Feb. 7, 2018

This piece is presented by the Minnehaha County Economic Development Association.

Alliance Communications experiences the growth of Brandon one cable, phone or Internet installation at a time. And lately it has been hard to keep up with demand.

“We’ve had to rearrange our tech schedule for installs in the last year, year and a half for different developments,” general manager Ross Petrick said. “Some places that were open fields even two years ago now have homes on them.”

So it seemed like the right time for Alliance to use property it has owned for years to bring more businesses to the growing community.

With help from Van Buskirk Cos., Alliance Plaza is developing more than 5 acres on the northeast corner of Aspen and Splitrock boulevards.

Alliance plans to move its office from rented space a few blocks away to a building it will own on property it has bought in pieces since 1999. As a co-op, its goal is to develop the land in a way that benefits the community, Petrick said.

“The main thing is to promote places for new businesses and do what we can to bring new business into town and give businesses within town a place to go if they need to grow.”

The U.S. Post Office plans to move its office to a larger space on the east end of Alliance Plaza by the end of the year.

Alliance also is planning to include space within its office to serve as an incubator for other businesses.

“Right now, it’s looking like if we can sign another deal we’re working on that we’ll start with about 2,000 square feet for an incubator space,” Petrick said. “The idea is to make it a blank slate where we can build out office as needed. We might also use it as our own incubator if we get into different services.”

The site plan calls for an additional 10,000-square-foot multiuse building as well as an 8,000-square-foot building with a patio on the corner.

“We’ve had interest from multiple retailers. And we’re looking for a restaurant to fill the corner spot,” Steve Van Buskirk said. “You can put a deck there with a nice outdoor patio looking south toward the Big Sioux River valley. It’s a really nice environment. And it would be nice to generate more options for the community because it just keeps getting bigger.”

Van Buskirk Cos. sees that growth firsthand in its housing developments.

The company took on the Stone Ridge Estates housing development last year and has 28 lots for sale from $45,000 to $72,000. Homes will range from $250,000 to $550,000.

“The city began last year removing their setting ponds for their waste treatment, and that was a huge positive for the neighborhood,” said Ryan Jansa, Van Buskirk’s land development manager.

“We have had good interest in that area so far this year and will plan on platting additional lots this year as needed.”

In the Bluffs development, seven lots sold last year and Van Buskirk added more inventory late in 2017 to keep up with demand. There are 28 lots for sale, including walkouts ranging from $42,000 to $85,000. Homes will range from $300,000 to $600,000.

“We have more plans ready to implement in the fall to give another good selection of lots for builders and homeowners,” Jansa said. “All in all, the Brandon market continues to be a very viable option for people looking to be a little bit out of town without sacrificing any of the convenience.”

The neighborhoods present good move-up housing options along with access to a city park and an improved transportation system connecting to Sioux Falls, Van Buskirk added.

“It’s been a good place for a number of years, and Brandon is getting to be an even better place to live,” he said. “You can now access east-side Sioux Falls shopping with Rice Street to Highway 100, which shaved five to 10 minutes of travel time to get to Target and the movie theater. And the schools are great, and people are passionate about the community.”