March 14, 2019

First Premier Bank plans to build a five-story main office in downtown Sioux Falls at the northeast corner of 14th Street and Minnesota Avenue.

“We’re thrilled to make this investment for our community and our organization, our customers and our employees,” bank president Dave Rozenboom said.

“It’s an exciting time at First Premier.”

Construction is scheduled to start next week.

The 77,000-square-foot building will hold about 125 employees when it opens in the third quarter of 2020. Architecture Incorporated is the architect, and Henry Carlson Construction is the general contractor.

It will be built with a flexible design that includes space for growth, Rozenboom said. First Premier will be the only tenant.

“Our customer-facing businesses will all be there: Business banking, retail banking, mortgage, trust, private banking,” said Brenda Bethke, senior vice president of marketing. “We’re really trying to bring all the customer-facing business units under one roof for the customer experience.”

Other employees in the new building will work in support services such as marketing, internal audit and human resources.

“It’s been an exciting ride for First Premier, and we’ve experienced phenomenal growth,” CEO Dana Dykhouse said. “We’ve built it one customer at a time. Every customer we have, we built that relationship, and we built it over time. That’s a testament to everyone in our organization. Our strategic advantage has been people. It hasn’t been buildings. It’s been people.”

A newer, more modern design also will allow the bank to integrate more technology for customers, its leaders said.

“It’s a very functional building. We’re trying to blend in with the downtown and use materials that fit the downtown look and feel,” Bethke said.

“It’s a modern building, and it’s a beautiful one. It’s very tasteful and has a good mix of windows, so people have a nice view from their offices, and we’re really looking with an eye to the customer, so the look and feel when they come in is welcoming and beautiful but not over the top. It’s very approachable.”

The building with include a training center that can hold up to 100 people and support First Premier’s in-house personal and professional development program, Premier University.

“And we’ll use it for community functions. We’re looking forward to hosting organizations where our people are involved,” Rozenboom said.

Other amenities include underground parking and a lunchroom with a deck facing to the east.

“The views over downtown will be spectacular as high as the site sits relative to downtown,” Rozenboom said.

The bank plans to sell its current main office on the southwest corner of the same intersection. First Premier has been located there since 1986 and is out of space.

“The primary factors in our (new location) decision were accessibility for customers and the visibility that this site provides,” Rozenboom said. “And the fact that it’s a significant investment in downtown Sioux Falls – the core of our city.”

Renderings by Architecture Incorporated

First Premier Bank plans new corporate headquarters after decades of impressive growth