Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation (MHA) hired WSB in 2019 to partner on sustainability and infrastructure investments on tribal property in central North Dakota. The MHA Nation envisioned reestablishing the heart of the community by developing a former laundromat and campground facility into a full-service casual steakhouse restaurant. The restaurant will create a much-needed community gathering space and will offer employment opportunities for tribal members. The restaurant is part of a larger community enhancement project that WSB is working on with MHA.
Tribal leaders looked to WSB to supply solutions for the existing property, and to design the community gathering space as a piece of the larger community plan. The building redevelopment features structural and design updates, as well as facility updates to ensure the kitchen and serving spaces are up to code. WSB provided many services including site design, land development, surveying, and structural engineering to redevelop the site.
The completion of the restaurant required flexibility and cross-partnership for WSB, the MHA Nation, and external development teams. The project was stopped due to public health concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. WSB continued working remotely on the project, ensuring efficient communication of timelines and workloads with the contractor and the construction team and anticipating project completion spring 2021. The coordination by WSB allowed timely delivery of the project and budget maintenance.
The restaurant will open in April 2021. It is the first of several developments in the area that will serve MHA Nation as a community asset that will serve the needs of the residents while forming an economic engine.