Bushel finds new home in historic Black Building

FARGO — Bushel, a Fargo-based agriculture software company, is moving to a new home in the Black Building in downtown Fargo.

Since about 2014, Bushel has occupied space in what is known as the Meadowlark Building at 503 7th St. N., in Fargo, an office building that features large murals of Meadowlarks on its exterior walls.

Now, Bushel is looking to move a few blocks south into about 8,500 square feet of space on the sixth floor of the Black Building, with the move expected to be completed in early May after renovations are completed.

That’s according to Jake Joraanstad, co-founder and CEO of Bushel, who said Bushel’s time in the Meadowlark Building has been a good experience.

“In general, it (the move) is not a space need,” Joraanstad said, adding that over time Bushel spread across several floors of the Meadowlark Building, so the move to a single floor in the Black Building will provide a simplified layout for Bushel’s team.

Joraanstad said the move also brings Bushel closer to the core of downtown Fargo and all the good things that entails, including restaurants and other amenities.

And, he added: “It’s one less railroad to cross, I can tell you that.”

Another aspect of the move, according to Joraanstad, is that it will likely mean more employees working in the office more of the time.

Currently, Bushel employees are in the office about three or more days a week, Joraanstad said, adding that once the move is completed most employees may be going into the office for most of the work week.

According to Joraanstad, when Bushel moved into the Meadowlark Building a little more than a decade ago, the company had about 25-30 employees.

Today, the number is closer to 100.

Joraanstad said Bushel’s main customers are agribusinesses like co-ops, ethanol plants and mills.

He noted that farmers are also customers and he said Bushel has developed technology that allows farmers to pay their bills online and manage finances similar to other consumer mobile payment services.

“It’s kind of a Venmo for agriculture,” Joraanstad said.

Once the move is complete, Bushel will occupy the sixth floor of the Black Building, which until recently was being marketed — along with the seventh and eighth floors — as being available for condo development.

At this time, the seventh and eighth floors remain available for condos, which would be pre-sold before actual condos are built, said Mike Allmendinger, president of the real estate development company Kilbourne Group.

Allmendinger added that the seventh and eighth floors, like the sixth floor, may ultimately be set up as office space if condo buyers do not materialize.

He said plans to turn the building’s lower level into parking space won’t be pursued unless condos are eventually built.

Allmendinger said the Black Building’s architecture is unique in many ways, including the number and location of the many windows around its exterior, which he said is an appealing feature many other buildings in the area lack.

“There’s just an incredible amount of natural light in this building, natural light gets to the middle of the space,” Allmendinger said.

Joraanstad said the views from the sixth floor are among the perks of setting up in the Black Building, noting that one of Bushel’s larger conference rooms will be on the building’s northeast corner “looking over Broadway Square and our friends at RDO.”

Joraanstad noted that the new downtown location will be a plus this summer when Bushel hosts its annual Buddy Seat Conference. The name of the event is a reference to auxiliary seats installed on heavy farm equipment like tractors.

Joraanstad said downtown’s ready access to things like skyways, restaurants and other attractions makes it “the best environment for our team.”