Nov. 15, 2019

After more than two decades downtown, the three companies that fall under the Bender umbrella are moving south.

The new office for Bender Commercial Real Estate Services, Bender Midwest Properties and Bender Realtors will be a standalone office building at 305 W. 57th St., just east of Minnesota Avenue.

The move marks the first time Bender will operate outside the historic downtown Beach Pay Building at 122 S. Phillips Ave. where Michael Bender began Bender Commercial 22 years ago.

“We’ve had a long history here where we’ve grown right alongside downtown Sioux Falls over the years,” Bender said. “But we’ve reached a point where we need more space and making a change was the logical next step.”

The new office building is being renovated, including expanding the parking lot and updating the interior and exterior. It most recently was Visser Architects.

Bender estimates there will be 21 people working out of the office on a daily basis and 17 employees who work off-site but come in for meetings.

“It’s an exciting time at Bender with all the planning and considerations that go into moving a company,” said Jill Madsen, president of Bender Midwest Properties. “Though it makes sense for us to move, we’ll definitely miss being downtown.”

The three Bender companies plan to complete the transition to the new office in December.

The Beach Pay Building downtown was purchased by Kevin Tupy in 2017. It’s now back on the market and listed at $3.5 million.