WILLISTON, ND— In recent years, thousands of oil workers havepoured into the towns and cities that sit atop the nation's shaleformation areas like the Bakken in North Dakota and Eagle Ford inTexas, creating the need for new housing and retail outlets. Andaccording to JLL's new 2014 North AmericanEnergy Outlook study, even small cities like Williston,ND, which still have relatively little retail, have caught the eyeof major brands like Whole Foods andTrader Joe's. JLL expects that $80 billion inannual investments over the next six years will pour into theregions, turning small outposts into genuine boom towns.

“The energy boom is having a dramatic effect on theinfrastructure of these boom towns and on the economies of the hubsthat support the oil and gas business,” said BruceRutherford, international director and head of the oil& gas practice for JLL, in a prepared statement. GlobeSt.comwill provide more detail from him later in the week.

“Sites like Williston and Midland, TX, Hobbs, NM in the PermianBasin are having a tremendous influx of workers, and those workersneed to eat, they need places to shop and they need homes," headded. "All of this demands infrastructure that doesn't exist, andit needs to be built.”