A planned office and warehouse for a commercial lawn and snow removal service at 1216 East Front Avenue is up for Renaissance Zone designation when Bismarck's Renaissance Zone Authority meets Thursday, Nov. 12, according to the authority's posted agenda and a city staff report in the meeting packet. The staff report estimates the project's property tax benefit at about $100,000 over five years.
The property owner is JLK Properties, LLC, according to the staff report, which titles the project "All Seasons Outdoor Office & Warehouse" (project RZ2026-003). City planning staff describe it as new construction of a roughly 6,500-square-foot building that would house both offices and equipment storage for a snow removal and irrigation company.
The proposed investment is $1,531,750, the staff report says, which works out to about $236 per square foot of new building. That clears the program's $150-per-square-foot minimum for new construction, according to staff. Besides the property tax estimate, the report puts the project's estimated income tax benefit at $12,500.
A lot that was cleared first. The site already had a building on it. The Assessor's office still lists a building value of $73,100, but the Building Inspections Department issued a demolition permit in October 2025 and demolition was finished in April 2026, the staff report says. The Assessor's office lists that building's condition as "Poor," the second-lowest rating, according to the report.
That history matters for the size of the break. Because of the old building's poor condition and low value, planning staff recommend that the authority count the property's starting value as $0, the report says. If the authority uses the $73,100 figure instead, the exemption would cover only the new building's value above that amount. Either way, owners in the program keep paying property tax on the land, staff noted.
The city approved a site plan for the building and issued a building permit in September 2026, according to the packet.
The neighborhood. The site sits in Renaissance Zone block 7E, which was added to the program's boundary in 2019, though no project had applied on this property until now, the staff report says. Planning staff describe the area as mostly industrial: warehousing and light manufacturing on three sides, with a mix of industrial, office and residential uses to the south. The city published notice of the request on Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 and mailed 21 postcards to nearby property owners on Oct. 29, according to the report.
Staff recommend approval with one condition, according to the report: a Certificate of Good Standing for the property owner, from the Office of the State Tax Commissioner, must be received before approval by the Bismarck City Commission. The project information table lists that certificate as "not yet received." Staff say the project, which includes new street trees, landscaping and sidewalks, is generally consistent with the goals of the city's Renaissance Zone Development Plan.
The authority meets at 4 p.m. in the Tom Baker Meeting Room on the lower level of the City-County Office Building, 221 N. Fifth St., the agenda says. Written comments go to planning@bismarcknd.gov by 8 a.m. that day, according to the agenda.
Sources: Bismarck Renaissance Zone Authority agenda, Nov. 12, 2026; Renaissance Zone Authority packet, Nov. 12, 2026, including staff report RZ2026-003