UK company buys Jordheim Plaza in downtown Dickinson

• Plaza

Although sitting quietly amid the downtown Dickinson hustle and bustle Friday afternoon, the Jordheim Plaza could be the site of a new hotel and restaurant complex by later this year. The property was recently purchased by a British investment firm that plans to develop the site.

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One of the tallest buildings in Dickinson could soon get a facelift that would make it not only tall, but proud once again.

In a planned project backed by an investment company located in the United Kingdom, the Jordheim Plaza in downtown Dickinson would be the site of a new hotel featuring a business center, fitness center and a fine-dining restaurant.

If all goes according to plan, the development could be finished by later this year, according to Property Horizons CEO Robert Gavin, who was reached Thursday by phone in the UK.

“We recently acquired the Jordheim Plaza in Dickinson and our plans are to refurbish it,” Gavin said. “We know that property hasn’t been operational for the past number of years and we’re excited to bring that space back into action. The plan is to provide accommodation for some of the vast number of people working in the Dickinson area and beyond in an area of the city that has been void of anything like what we would bring.”

In a release sent by Louise Taylor of AB Property Marketing out of London — a firm working with PH — the plaza, which used to be the Old Ivanhoe Inn, would undergo an “eco-friendly” refurbishment and offer rooms for long-term stays to investors or companies with interests in southwest North Dakota.

“If you look at the surveys, there’s hundreds of millions of barrels under the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and in that region,” Gavin said. “If you look at what is recoverable right now, we’re looking at around about 65 years of extraction. I think we’ll see that once a certain amount of oil is extracted, technology will just continue to improve to enable us to retrieve a higher percentage of those reserves. It’s going to be a perpetual thing and go on for another 100 years.”

Although nothing has been formally approved by the city yet, Gavin said his company is ready to work quickly on the project and city leaders appear to warm to the idea.

“The city of Dickinson is excited to work with the new owners to bring this building, that dominates the downtown skyline, back to its full potential,” Dickinson City Administrator Shawn Kessel said. “This project would be a step towards the downtown renaissance we are planning.”

In addition to Dickinson, PH also has plans for developments in Watford City and Williston and has developed sites in New York, Florida and Michigan, Gavin said. Although a name for the potentially refurbished plaza hasn’t been finalized, Gavin said it’s likely to eventually be called the “Dickinson Grand.”

“This is a landmark with a lot of history behind it,” Gavin said. “It’s an iconic building in the city and it’s located right in the city’s center downtown. The local planning department is trying to maintain and retain as much of the downtown historical flavor as possible. We’re looking at providing lodging for people working in the oil fields or in construction, but also for tourists. We’re looking to really make an impact in the community.”

Towering above downtown at a height of nearly 90 feet, the Jordheim Plaza was constructed in 1952 and had been owned by Lori and Brent Jordheim since the mid-1990s.

“Revitalizing our downtown is something that is important,” Dickinson Mayor Dennis Johnson said. “I think there are some really positive things that are going to be happening in the future.”

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