September 4, 2013

Ground broken on new residential, commercial development

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Soon to be rising out of what was once a wheat field east of Watford City, will be Hunter’s Run, the first work-live Master Planned Community in this booming town.
Hunter’s Run, which is being built on 294 acres of land at the junction of North Dakota Highways 23 and 1806, will ultimately include 1,500 to 1,800 dwelling units for up to 4,000 people, as well as a commercial development.
“Hunter’s Run is a Master Planned Community,” states Joe Kachuroi, who is a partner in Hunter’s Run LLC. “It will include everything that the residents of this development will need. It will include housing in the form of apartments, twin homes and single family homes, as well as retail stores and office buildings.”
According to Kachuroi, water and sewer lines are currently being laid into the ground with the streets, curbs and gutters will be completed by fall.
“We are going to be seeing vertical construction in the very near future,” states Kachuroi. “The first homes will be in by mid-September and construction is about to start on the first commercial/industrial building.”
While Kachuroi states that the entire development will be done in phases, the first phase will include two hotels, a travel center, a medical center, an office building, industrial office space, as well as apartments and single family homes and duplexes.
“The first phase of the development will be in the south half of the property,” stated Kachuroi. “The second phase will include industrial development, while the third phase will consist of single family homes and duplexes.”
According to Kachuroi, the total build-out of Hunter’s Run is anticipated to be completed within three years. However, he said that because of the tremendous interest in the project, the build-out could happen faster.
According to Kachuroi, Titanium Builders is the master developer and master builder for the project, which was the creation of Jason Vedadi of Spokane, WA about 14 years ago
“We want this to be a community where people can walk and get coffee, eat breakfast, shop and work,” says Kachuroi. “We will be offering quality homes in a safe environment with all the amenities people would expect. And that includes shopping, restaurants, parks and green space.”
Kachuroi says that he and his partners selected Watford City as the site for their development because the city is in the center of the Bakken oil shale play and because it was a city that welcomes quality developments.
“We looked at the number of drilling permits that are being issued in North Dakota,” states Kachuroi. “And we quickly realized that Watford City is the place where it is all happening.”
Kachuroi knows that providing affordable housing is going to be the key to the development’s success.
“We want quality family housing that is priced at under $200,000, while also offering higher priced homes,” states Kachuroi. “Hunter’s Run is going to be able to provide a mix of housing that is within a good price range for the community.”
As part of the initial construction of homes, Hunter’s Run has partnered with MondayOne, a leading diversified real estate developer based in Irvine, Calif., to build duplex-style town homes in the development.
According to Kenny Dewan, president of MondayOne, the Watford project will be their second project in North Dakota.
“The demand for family housing in the oil-rich communities around the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota continues to grow,” stated Dewan. “The workers in the oil industry and related services are saying that they want Watford City to be their permanent home. The schools are excellent and it’s a great place to raise a family.”
According to Kachuroi, the development of Hunter’s Run is progressing rapidly since the property was acquired in April of 2013. Bakken Realty will being handling all the residential sales and leases.
“We’ve done all of our planning and have the development approved by the Watford City City Council,” stated Kachuroi. “Since then we’ve been moving ground and laying 1,000 feet of water and sewer lines a day to get the property ready for construction.”
In addition to Kachuroi, other partners in Hunter’s Run LLC include Jason Vedadi, Marco Nordio, Pat Murphy and Duane Davis, and First National Bank & Trust of Williston.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER