Sioux Falls is entering into agreements with an Iowa company to develop railyard land downtown.
About four acres of land on Eighth Street are being developed into a five-story mixed-use building, parking ramp and three apartment complexes.
Christensen Development is known for its work developing downtown Des Moines, Iowa.
Jake Christensen is the president of the company. He said he sees similarities between the two cities.
“There are aspects of Sioux Falls that feel like Des Moines 10 years ago. Des Moines went through a phase where the suburbs saw the bulk of the development. And then there was a point where there was a more inward look at the opportunities that existed in the core. The number of years I’ve been coming up here and learning the market, you see the exact same thing occurring here,” Christensen said.
Christensen Development is partnering with many local businesses to aid in developing the land, including ISG, Journey Construction, Bender Commercial and Woods Fuller.
The company is seeking 8-million-dollars in city funding to go towards parking ramp construction, site work and public improvements.
Christensen said without public funding, the project won’t happen.
“Sioux Falls has been fortunate. They’ve had some rent growth. But nowhere near the pace of the cost of the inputs. To me that’s the most succinct way to put it is if you’re inputs are outpacing your rent growth, you’re not gonna ever bridge the gap and get to the finish line without an investment like this,” Christensen said.
The project costs around 97-million-dollars and if all goes according to plan, could break ground as early as this year. The goal is to complete the full project over a five-year window – with the first mixed-use building potentially done as soon as 2026.
