Built in the early 1910s by the Tri-State Land Company, a division of the Soo Line Railroad, the building located at #3 was leased to the Ward Fruit Company beginning in approximately 1912. The business served as a food distributor to transport goods from the railroad to groceries in the region. By 1933, the Ward Mercantile branch of the Nash Finch Company, also a wholesale fruit business, occupied the structure. By the late 1940s, the structure was occupied by the Sears Roebuck and Company Farm Store. In the early 1970s, the building was operated as a flooring store (Carpetland). The original windows and doors on the north and east sides of the building were covered with painted wood in approximately 1964. 

​

Originally built in 1909 by local rancher William Carroll, the basement and first floor of the building located at #7 initially housed the Northwestern Supply Company. In 1915, Carroll and Carl Peterson converted the main floor into Troy Laundry, a laundry facility whose faded south-side sign remains visible. On the north side, traces of the old Northwestern Supply Company sign can still barely be seen. The second and third stories of the building were built as a boarding house and annex for a local hotel. The second and third stories of this building sat largely vacant since the late 1960s.

​

The redevelopment plan for the buildings at 3 & 7 1st Street SE aimed to revitalize two deteriorating properties, restore historical elements of the Minot Industrial Historic District, completely renovate the interiors and exteriors, increase accessibility with an elevator to all floors, and update all systems to meet current codes. Connecting the adjacent buildings provided space for up to 9 small business tenants. The 1st & Central project returned approximately 25,000 square feet of commercial property in downtown Minot to productive use, will increase the property value and tax collection after the Renaissance Zone period, utilized local architects, contractors and suppliers, and catalyzed additional neighborhood redevelopment and investment as an anchor project.

 

Leased suites in the repurposed buildings now house numerous small businesses that value the unique property's central location in the Minot community and proximity to other entrepreneurs in the buildings.