JSDC backs loan help for downtown Jamestown bar renovation

The former Office Bar property at 115 1st Ave. S. is poised for a downtown comeback after the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. board unanimously approved more than $63,000 in Flex PACE interest buydown help for Koush LLC. Jordan Koushkouski plans to renovate the building and reopen it as the Park Bar, reviving the name the property carried when his grandfather owned it.

The approval ties a single property deal to a broader downtown strategy: use public-backed financing to make private investment easier in buildings that can change hands, change use or simply sit idle. In this case, the incentive is not aimed at adding factory jobs or funding a primary-sector business. Bank of North Dakota says Flex PACE is designed for businesses that do not meet the primary-sector definition of regular PACE, and no job creation is required for any Flex PACE option.

For Jamestown and Stutsman County, the local match for Flex PACE is 30% of the total interest buydown, capped at $85,714. Under JSDC’s 2025 rubric, the community portion is structured as a JSDC loan repaid after the note term at 2% over four years, and the rate buydown can reduce borrowing costs from 5% to as low as 1%. That is the practical value of the program: it lowers the cost of capital enough to make projects pencil out that might otherwise stall.

The JSDC board considered the Koush LLC application at its May 11, 2026 meeting agenda, alongside other business-development requests. The city and county had already approved funding of up to $500,000 for the 2026 Flex PACE program, with $400,000 from the City of Jamestown and $100,000 from Stutsman County. A city Finance and Legal Committee record also identified Koushkouski as the property owner tied to 115 1st Ave. S., underscoring that the project involves an existing downtown asset rather than a speculative new build.

The board’s approval matters because downtown property decisions ripple beyond one storefront. A vacant or underused commercial building can weaken a block, while a renovated bar or restaurant can pull more foot traffic past nearby businesses and reinforce confidence in the city center. JSDC has leaned on the same tool before: in 2025, it participated in three Flex PACE loans totaling $204,538.98, which leveraged $478,328.92 and more than $5.4 million in private investment.

For downtown Jamestown, the Park Bar plan is more than a name change. It is another test of whether local financing support can keep older commercial buildings active, locally owned and part of the street life that gives the core of the city its value.