March 31, 2022

The Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce has purchased the downtown office building it has occupied for the past 30 years.

The Commerce Center, located at Eighth Street and Phillips Avenue, was built by Dunham Co. It opened in 1992 with the chamber as one of its original tenants.

“This purchase demonstrates the chamber’s commitment to investing in downtown development and the overall growth of the city,” said Alex Ramirez, chair of the chamber’s board of directors.

“We are taking a historic step to acquire a long-term asset on behalf of our membership.”

The purchase price was $5.7 million.

Front: Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jeff Griffin and chair of the board of directors Alex Ramirez. Back: Keith Miller (First Premier Bank), Joan Bartling (Chamber VP finance and accounting), and Scott Lawrence (vice chair of the board of directors)

The Commerce Center also houses several other nonprofit, community-focused organizations that work closely with the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. The Sioux Falls Development Foundation, Experience Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls Sports Authority and Sioux Empire Housing Partnership will all benefit by locking in long-term, affordable rent in the space, chamber president and CEO Jeff Griffin said.

“The strength of our chamber membership and decades of prudent financial planning positioned us to seize the opportunity presented to us by Dunham Co. to purchase the Commerce Center,” Griffin said. “This acquisition puts us in a position to stabilize our annual expenses while building equity in downtown Sioux Falls.”

Lloyd Property Management has been hired to manage the site and find a tenant for the 10,000 square feet of space currently open

The chamber plans to immediately improve the building with a redesigned ADA entry, facade work and updated building signage. An open house and ribbon-cutting will be scheduled for late summer.