Projections are that through 2010, somewhere near 12,000 new petroleum-related workers will be needed through new drilling demands, retirements and attrition. Compounding that is an overall worker shortage as other industries see their workforce move into oil or other high-paying jobs.
In May 2005, the North Dakota Workforce Development Council through Workforce Investment Act Incentive Act Award used $20,000 matching funds to assist the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Workforce Assessment Study.
In the study they polled multiple petroleum companies to estimate what their needs for employees would be. According to the study, 2,327 expected workers were identified for 2007, 2,383 for 2008, 2,254 for 2009, and 2,627 for 2010.
Secondary data acquired in the study from the Job Service North Dakota showed there were 3,291 workers needed for western North Dakota in 2007, 2,751 workers needed in 2008, 3,056 workers needed in 2009, and 2,820 workers needed in 2010. Firms contacted said they would need up 41 percent worker replacement to maintain expected employment levels.
It has been a catch-22 for Williston. While there is demand for workers of all types to come here, they virtually cannot find a place to live. Smaller affordable rental homes and lower-cost homes were scarfed off the market. Apartment rental waiting lists often exceed 100 people for those who do not qualify for low-income units.
Because of housing shortage, the city cannot grow. That's where the developers come in.
Marcil and Valley expressed their enthusiasm for the potential growth in the rental facet of housing as well as other building options.
"We really believe that the future of North Dakota lives in this area in terms of our industry development. Housing is a critical component to our growth, not only to Williston, but the state of North Dakota. We are just delighted to have the opportunity to develop new housing with the amenities and 21st Century lifestyle that will hopefully help this community to grow. We look forward to a long partnership with the community. We look at this as really the beginning of a much larger development track that will hopefully support a lot of the housing needs we need in the community for the years to come. We are very excited to be here," said Michael Marcil, CEO of the Marcil Group Inc.
"I've been in real estate development for 40 years, and actually helped build 48 units built in 1980. I am familiar with Williston, and it is good to see the city being aggressive again. It's good to see we will be providing housing for the growth you are having here. ...This is the start of what we hope to be a long-term relationship with the city of Williston, and additional development with the city of Williston," said George Gaukler of the Valley Development Group. "Looking at the long-term picture, we'll provide additional housing over the years that need be for the oil industry and all of the associated industries."
Marcil said the two groups took on a similar project in Fargo, by converting a blighted trailer park into a 127-unit apartment complex that will evolve into 277 units for senior housing.
Naturally, they are tailoring the Williston apartments to oil industry needs and complexes that attract younger inhabitants.
"In Williston, it would be industry housing. These would be very similar to the apartments we built in Valley City and Fargo. We are very excited about being able to come here and do that."
Marcil said the housing they will build is contemporary, modern housing people would want to see in a bigger city. "We hope we are providing a newer product for people in the community that help us attract more people to the community and have a better lifestyle here," Marcil said. The units will include wireless access, unit laundry rooms, cable in buildings and more spacious than average units.
Williston City Commission President Ward Koeser said the news of the apartments fit into the niche of his Build Williston Initiative, announced earlier this week.
"It's a huge plus for us. ...Tuesday night, we talked of a three-pronged attack of finding housing and coming up with a task force to go to other communities and find developers, find a workforce to come here and then deal with quality of life. I am especially pleased when it comes to this group's approach to quality of life and the apartments, they are proposing to build. I think they will have the amenities appealing to the younger generation.
"There are still things we need to accomplish. We still have this issue of 'workforce housing.' Some would call that affordable housing. We've got to address that issue. We will continue with that initiative, but this takes a huge burden off it by constructing the first apartments.''
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