Jamestown council advances southwest residential lot development project

Southwest Jamestown moved a step closer to becoming a place where homes can actually rise, not just a patch of mapped ground. The Jamestown City Council advanced a residential lot development project that will use the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp.’s Residential Lot Development Program to build the infrastructure that comes before houses, including the roads and utilities builders need before breaking ground.

That matters because the southwest side has already been through the costly early stages that shape whether land becomes livable at all. The city previously approved the purchase agreement for Jamestown Southwest Second Addition Outlot A at $445,000, plus closing costs and about $29,000 in unpaid special assessments. Council members later approved the major subdivision and final plat for Jamestown Southwest Second Addition, and the city also acted on a stormwater pond license agreement tied to Romsdal Properties, LLC in the same area.

Taken together, those steps point to a project that is moving from planning into the work that makes lots usable. The latest council action keeps that momentum going by putting JSDC’s residential lot program behind the infrastructure side of the development. For Jamestown, that could mean more buildable residential land on the southwest edge of town, where every new utility line, curb, and access point can determine how quickly a neighborhood fills in.

The financing trail shows the city is already investing heavily in the ground-level pieces of growth. The council approved a request from JSDC to fund up to $500,000 of the 2024 Flex PACE Program, with $100,000 from the county and $400,000 from the city sales tax fund. At a Jan. 2, 2024, meeting, the council also approved a contract for planning and zoning support and created a 2024 sidewalk and curb-and-gutter district, underscoring that southwest growth is coming with public costs for infrastructure and long-term maintenance.

JSDC says it was organized to develop employment, improve business conditions and advance the interests of Jamestown and Stutsman County, and Connie Ova has said it was formally organized in 1991. That background helps explain why the lot project is flowing through JSDC rather than operating as a routine city street job.

The exact lot count and construction schedule were not laid out in the council material, but the direction is clear: southwest Jamestown is being prepared for the kind of buildable land that can eventually draw homes, investment and new residents.