Burlington Growing After Flood - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Burlington Growing After Flood

The city of Burlington could triple in size over the next five years.

Two developments were annexed into Burlington city limits this spring.

Together, the fields across the highway could look more like 1500 homes in the next few years. Jennifer Thorgramson reports.

Census numbers from 2010 have Burlington at 1,060 people.

Mayor Jerome Gruenberg says that between people coming with the energy boom, and going with the flood, those numbers are still pretty close.
But that's all about to change.

(Mayor Jerome Gruenberg, City of Minot) "Very soon we're going to grow really fast."

Off of Highway 2 & 52 and County Road 10, 500 acres of land are being molded and will soon make up Highland Ranch.

Annexed into city limits at the same time, Point of View is a second development that will move in when FEMA is gone.

(Mayor Jerome Gruenberg, City of Minot) "We're working hard on it. We have an economic development committee that has struggled for years and they finally had a touch down."

Plans for Point of View are not yet solidified, but Gruenberg says it may look something like Beaver Ridge, with commercial property on the main level and apartments above.

Highland Ranch will primarily be single family homes.
300 to 400 lots will be developed right away with the potential of 1500 homes in the future.

Stretching the "heart" of Burlington nearly a mile down the highway, Gruenberg says the river dictates the direction of the city's growth.

(Mayor Jerome Gruenberg, City of Minot) "We're going to be about a half mile wide and two or three miles long."

Common questions linger: water, sewer, traffic.
Burlington received money from the North Dakota state land department that must go toward infrastructure.
It won't cover all the costs for sewer lines, but it will help.

NAWS will supply all of Burlington's water, in the new development and the existing city.
And finally: traffic.

Accidents have increased significantly where Johnson Street meets the highway.

Burlington is working with the Highway Department to see reduced speeds, and possible a traffic light at that intersection.

Change is nearing, the possibilities endless.

But one thing is certain: (Mayor Jerome Gruenberg, City of Minot) "They're both going to be very good editions for us. There's going to be a lot of houses there."
In Burlington, Jennifer Thorgramson, KX News.

Burlington Elementary School will have a better idea of the growth they will be seeing after registration on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.