 With the construction of Interstate 94 in 1964 business began to decline in downtown Bismarck and by the end of the 1970s, the Dakotan closed for business.The upper floors remained vacant until it was renovated in the 1980s by Northwest Development Group headed by Jim Christianson, who has restored many historic buildings in the Bismarck/Mandan area.The ground floor, which originally held the hotel lobby as well as a succession of grocery businesses and a department store, currently houses small stores.