By Jodi Schwan

Believed to be downtown’s oldest building, the historic Beach Pay Building on Phillips Avenue is on the market.

It’s located at 122 S. Phillips Ave. and listed for $1.975 million.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the response in 24 hours, which is great,” said Nick Gustafson of Bender Commercial Real Estate Services, who has the building co-listed with Michael Bender.

Bender and other investors bought the building in the mid-1990s and extensively renovated it.

It was built in 1887 and is fully leased, with more than 22,000 rentable square feet.

First-floor retail tenants include 605 Running Co., Half Baked and Urban Archaeology. The upper floors are offices.

“It’s not only strongly performing real estate, it’s a piece of Sioux Falls history and a pillar of the future as downtown thrives,” Gustafson said.

After some unsolicited offers, the owners decided the time was right to put it on the market, he said.

“When you look at the way downtown has revitalized and where we’re at in the market, it’s a natural sale point,” he said.

The Bender firm, which is a tenant, plans to remain in the building “for the near future,” he said.

The owners had a structural report done before reoccupying the building last December following the building collapse two doors south, “and it showed nothing that would lead us to believe the structure had been affected in any way,” Gustafson said.

A wide range of potential buyers already has surfaced, he said.

“Established investors, people who simply love downtown, and … there might be some people who love downtown and want to diversify away from the equity market right now.”