The historic Bismarck Depot is under new ownership that plans to renovate the dormant building and reopen it to the public.
The Depot is a mainstay in Bismarck and what some have called pivotal to the city's history. It opened as a train station in 1901; after passenger train service ended in 1979, it was a Mexican-themed restaurant for more than 30 years. After that it became Edwinton Brewery, which closed in 2019.
The building has been vacant since then, leaving city residents to wonder: what’s next? Local developer Cam Knutson is answering that question, with plans to restore the building to prominence, give community members a say in how it's done, and address the Depot's unsettled fate.
“This is a centerpiece for Bismarck, an iconic building … and we realized this is something we’re willing to make the full investment on getting this building restored and brought back to life so it’s ready for the next 50 years,” Knutson said.
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Troubled years
Local restaurateur Dale Zimmerman bought the Depot in 2014 but ran into snags with his efforts to renovate the building. The city in 2018 quashed his plans to remove the historically characteristic lattice pattern from the building's windows. That same year, he unsuccessfully put the Depot up for sale at $4.25 million.
He later transferred the building to Choice Financial Group through a deed in lieu of foreclosure, which Zimmerman said was a result of “roadblocks” created by the city.
“It took us five years to get open because the city set up so many roadblocks to get the building renovated,” he said, adding that the lack of income due to the building remaining closed “drained us” financially.
City officials in 2018 questioned why Zimmerman waited six months to appeal their decision.
Knutson, son of longtime local developer Ron Knutson and owner of Knutson Companies, recently purchased the property. Public documents show Cam Knutson's firm Downtown Depot acquired the mortgage from Choice Financial for an undisclosed price last year. In March, Downtown Depot purchased the property through a sheriff's sale for $2.3 million, documents show. Knutson declined to comment on how much he paid for the mortgage because he said the number doesn’t represent the full cost -- including the liens and other costs -- that was paid for the property.
Knutson's company hired JLG Architects to do architectural drawings for the building’s remodel, which will take place later this year or early next year. Renovations are expected to take about a year to complete.
Knutson would like a restaurant and possibly a retail business to eventually occupy the space. He has “a few prospective tenants” in mind but declined to name any because his company is in the early stages of designing the building.
“We’re excited that we’re back at doing (architectural) drawings and I think once we get a little further ahead in the next couple of months, then we can start the process of starting to figure out who can go in there and eventually call that place home,” he said.
A deep history
The Depot has undergone many changes over the years. In 1977 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the federal government's list of properties it deems worthy of recognition and preservation.
The Northern Pacific Railway Co. opened the Depot in 1901. The building was constructed entirely of concrete and illustrated an old Spanish mission style, which was uncommon in the Northern Plains, according to the building’s nomination form to the National Register.
The same marble chips used in the construction of the Minnesota State Capitol were embedded in the exterior surfaces of the Depot, according to the form. Embedded in the walls of the Depot are several small dolls that one of the workers on the building pressed into the cement, according to a 1982 Tribune article.
In 1916 the Depot was serving 24 passenger trains a day, but by 1950, “Bismarck began to reflect the nationwide decline of railroads generated by the completion of vehicular transport,” the Register form said.
Northern Pacific merged with Burlington Northern and Santa Fe in 1970 and transferred its offices to the Mandan Depot in 1972. Amtrak also had space in the Bismarck Depot but left after ending passenger train service there in 1979.
Jim Christianson of Northwest Development Group Inc. purchased the Depot in 1983 for $10,000.
The Christianson family is well-known in Bismarck. Jim Christianson’s father, Marc Christianson, founded Dakota Zoo and his grandfather, A.M. Christianson, was a North Dakota Supreme Court justice.
Jim Christianson has been involved in historic remodels since he renovated the Patterson Hotel in 1983. He had office space in the hotel and was present in 1980 when the city condemned the building. He later moved his office next door to the historic Capitol Theater building, now called Dakota Stage Playhouse, and remodeled that building, as well.
“I kept looking out the windows at the beautiful Depot building, which was boarded up,” he said.
Christianson bought the Depot and remodeled the exterior and interior of the building and leased the east end of it to Fiesta Villa, which was there from 1983 to 2016. Christianson in 2014 sold the Depot to Zimmerman. Over the years, several tenants have inhabited the west end and the second floor of the Depot building, including an antique furniture store, a clothing store and an accounting firm.
Historic nature
Christianson applauds efforts to get people back into the Depot.
“(I support) whatever they end up doing that energizes it and gets people (in there) and, hopefully, it is more of a public space,” he said, adding he would also approve of another Mexican restaurant opening in the space again.
Kate Herzog, chief operating officer for The Downtowners, an organization that supports the development and growth of downtown Bismarck, said her group also supports the renovation and reopening of the Depot.
“Obviously, we’d really like the building to be active again,” she said. “(It would) especially help the surrounding businesses, just in terms of more activity and stuff, because it’s an entire block that’s in the dark right now.”
Herzog said her organization uses the uniqueness of the downtown area as a recruitment and retention tool for prospective businesses and that the historic nature of the Depot helps with those efforts.
“If you don’t have that personality and that iconic sort of building stock and history, it’s a bit harder to do those recruitment and retention activities, and the Depot is a piece of that for sure,” she said.
'Community project'
Renovation work will follow “all the steps, guidelines and recommendations” from the city and other entities, according to Knutson.
“The beauty of the building is that historic nature of it,” he said. “We definitely, for this one, will be going through all the proper channels of approval before any renovation work would happen.”
Renovation may include a new roof, exterior restoration, and new electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, Knutson said. Total costs have not yet been determined.
Knutson said the Depot remodel will be a “community project.” He and his company will solicit feedback from community members; they’ve already met with groups such as The Downtowners and others.
The city in 2013 introduced a Depot Plaza concept in the Downtown Bismarck Subarea Plan, which included elements such as a public skating rink and outdoor event space.
Zimmerman championed the Depot Plaza concept. When he put the Depot up for sale in 2018, he had hopes of turning over the building to a foundation or charity that would turn it into a downtown plaza.
Knutson doesn’t have plans to continue the plaza concept but said it is “something we’d want to keep the dialogue open on.”
“We’re looking forward to seeing what’s possible and making it happen,” he said.