Kevin Christianson has carved an impressive path in the real estate development industry. Starting at just 14 years old, he worked for his brother-in-law’s home improvement business, installing rain gutters and gradually worked his way up to sales and eventually overseeing crews and ordering materials. Eventually, he moved to Fargo and started his own home improvement business.
Kevin’s venture into real estate began after he sold his home improvement business in 1993. He then expanded into hotel development, successfully opening ten hotels across eight states.
In this Q&A, Kevin talks about his early career, his transition into real estate, and the key projects that have defined his success. From developing the retail strip mall on Main Avenue to transforming Osgood into a thriving 900-acre community, Kevin Christianson has made a big impact on the Fargo-Moorhead metro.
Q&A
Q: How did you get your start in real estate?
A: I had a home improvement business first that I sold in 1993 and then I started doing hotels around the country. We had 10 hotels in 8 different states and the first one I did was the Sleep Inn in Fargo, which is now the Red Roof.
I started buying up larger tracts of dirt in 1995 in Fargo. From there, I just kept purchasing land as opportunities arose and started doing what we do today.
Q: What was your first non-hotel development project?
A: It was a retail strip mall on Main Avenue where Simonson Lumber used to be.
Amber Valley was our first big tract of land-where Sickie’s Garage is now.
Then, we bought the land west of there. Then we did Elmwood Court in West Fargo. Next, Osgood came.
Q: What opportunities did you see in those plots of land?
They were ripe for development.
However, Osgood wasn’t. Osgood was a leapfrog when we did that. The first thing I did was put two miles of country fencing in and I created a community, but it was gravel roads when I started buying up land there in 2001.
Q: How many pieces of land have you developed to date?
A: I can’t even tell you. I’ve done over 6,000 single family residential lots in our community and several commercial components. I should know the acreage, but I don’t, it’s a lot.
Q: Why do you think you have been so successful in doing these things?
A: I like architecture and tangible stuff. I understand how things go together and I get really involved in all of the layouts. I can see it before actually seeing it.
Q: What projects are you most proud of?
A: Osgood is an awesome neighborhood. It’s our biggest development ever at 900 acres. Osgood was my baby and it was fun from purchasing the first 160 acres to turning that into 900 acres and assembling all of that and working with the park district and dedicating 100 acres of that land to the city to have it be a golf course.
It was rewarding doing everything from the commercial corridor to the multifamily. There are homes in there now that are worth over $3 million.
It’s fun watching a vision that started on a bar napkin come to life.
Right now, we’re doing the SpringHill Suites hotel in the Timber Creek area, which is a fun project because we haven’t done a hotel in 10 years.
Q: Are there any projects in the pipeline that you are specifically excited about?
A: Nothing I can talk about, but I’m always working on new projects.
Q: What does a typical week look like for you?
A: It varies. Every week is different. We do projects in 26 states right now. So, I travel quite a bit to those. It’s sporadic, but I’m always busy.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about what you do?
A: One of the best things is that two of my sons, Alex and Tom, work with me every day.
I also really like how tangible it all is.
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