The wait is over.

After months of anticipation, a Fargo-based development company announced Friday what stores will rise up west of Dickinson.

Roers Development Inc. confirmed its 500-acre lot of land will house the West Ridge Center. The development will be immediately northwest of Exit 59 off Interstate 94.

The center will feature Cash Wise Foods, Cash Wise Liquor, Menards, AT&T, Dollar Tree, Petco, Gate City Bank and Shoe Carnival, according to a press release.

"It's been a lot of work to get those retailers to Dickinson, and we got some more coming," Roers President Larry Nygard said. "It's a good time for Dickinson."

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, Homstay Suites Extended Stay, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Value Place also confirmed tenancy.

Some of the confirmed tenants are scheduled to break ground as early as this summer, with completion dates of spring 2013.

Roers is in negotiations with several restaurants to come to the area, Nygard said. He wouldn't specify which ones.

There is a market for the businesses, City Administrator Shawn Kessel said.

"It's very exciting to know that our market forces are healthy enough to bring these companies in so that subsidies aren't provided to entice them," he said.

There is a fear that the bigger stores could take business away from the small ones, but just because they are there doesn't mean people will shop there instead, said Ray Ann Kilen, Dickinson regional manager of North Dakota Small Business Development Center.

"Sometimes we are afraid of competition if we are a small business because we feel that when we get the Menards, what happens to the Bosch Lumbers or the Probuilds," she said. "I remember when Super Walmart came and everyone was just in a tizzy, and yet the reality is those stores have done just fine."

The stores are needed, said Troy Shank, Outback Lumber Supply Co. owner in Dickinson. He said he has plenty of clientele and he is busy.

"It's nice to see another grocery store," he said.

Dan's Super Market Corporate Office representatives in Bismarck declined comment.

The small businesses need to remember that their strengths are at the local level, Kilen said. If they keep serving their customers, they should be fine, she added.

"In my mind, run with what you are strong," she said. "There are still people who don't want to run to Walmart because they would rather run quickly into a smaller store."

Businesses coming to the area is an indicator of the city's prosperity, Kilen said, adding companies do research to see if the town is worth coming to before making the final decision.

The stores could bring more people to the area and give variety to customers, Nygard said.

Kessel said there is a concern for staffing the upcoming and existing stores.

Source:  The Dickinson Press