New development park opens opportunities for Brandon

This piece was brought to you by the Minnehaha County Economic Development Association.

A family farm that dates back to the 1800s is going to become a center of new job growth for Brandon.

City leaders and economic developers have been hoping to buy the 80-acre property north of the Brandon and Corson development parks for years.

It was homesteaded in the 1870s.

“So it was pretty hard for the owner to part with it, but this is huge,” said Dennis Olson, vice president of the Brandon Development Foundation and a board member of the Minnehaha County Economic Development Association.

“People won’t realize for another 10 years what a big deal it was.”

The land was purchased in February and named the Rovang Industrial Park. It offers large parcels for industrial businesses with flexible layouts and daily rail service.

“Which is pretty rare in the Sioux Falls area,” Olson said.

The Brandon-Corson area’s six development parks have a history of successful business attraction. Since 1983, the statistics are impressive:

  • 320 new acres of industrial land.
  • About 1,400 new jobs.
  • Almost $60 million in assessable property.

Anchor businesses such as Luverne Truck Equipment, Marmen and Spartan Motors offer well-rounded job opportunities with solid employers.

“It’s nice to get businesses in, but if they aren’t successful and they don’t stay, you’re spinning your wheels,” Olson said. “It’s good to have people in who do a really good job at what they do.”

That success means the current development parks are nearly out of space, however.

Nick Fosheim, MCEDA’s executive director, has been involved in the development of Rovang Industrial Park and expects strong interest in the new opportunity.

“Last year was a very active year for Brandon in those parks. They had an incredible number of land sales, so I think we will see that momentum continue,” he said. “The new park is basically ready to go. It’s not going to take a lot of time. I think you’ll see some dirt moved yet this summer.”

The pipeline of prospective employers is encouraging, Fosheim said. Businesses that put off expansion before last year’s election are back, for example.

“I’m seeing projects now that have resurfaced after 18 months, and they’re wanting to be in a building in this area by April. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but it’s encouraging.”

 

 

 

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New development park opens opportunities for Brandon

A family farm that dates back to the 1800s is going to become a center of new job growth for Brandon.

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