May 16, 2024

If a child can walk, Emilie Byrd and Peyton Jones are willing to teach the little one to dance.

It was enough of a niche to help their business, Releve Studios, gain a foothold in a market with many established dance studios.

“Most dance studios don’t allow under 3, so we started a walking program and had super huge success,” Jones said. “We call them our Ballet Babes, and we have a ton of them, and we love them.”

Since founding the business in 2017, they are out of accommodating space at 1821 S. Minnesota Ave. The growing groups of parents who watch lessons and socialize need more lounge space as “we literally have parents sitting on the stairs inside the doorway because we don’t have enough room in the lounges, which makes my heart burst with joy,” Jones said.

They didn’t want to move far from central Sioux Falls, which makes them an accessible location for families coming from all directions, including the broader metro area, so they found their future home a short way east on Cliff Avenue.

The dance studio is moving into the former Arnold Riddle Interiors at 712 S. Cliff Ave., a space offering about the same square footage but a more usable layout evenly distributed between classrooms and lounges once they finish renovating.

Other than dance flooring and cosmetic upgrades, the building didn’t need a lot of work, they said. The plan is to start holding classes there in June.

The space drew “quite a bit” of interest, said Mike Knudson of Van Buskirk Cos., who put the deal together. “And it was a wide variety — an office, retail, small event-type place — just a wide variety of folks, and I think it turned out perfect for these gals to have a stand-alone building that they can really have be theirs, and I know they’re excited.”

The move is one of a few slowly starting to fill in the Cliff Avenue corridor between 14th and 26th streets. Southeastern Behavioral Health moved from Fifth Street and Phillips Avenue to 600 S. Cliff Ave. earlier this year.

We Got You Tattoo quickly leased the northeast corner of 26th Street and Cliff Avenue when it became available, Knudson said.

“They really liked the exposure and traffic, so we filled that space pretty quick.”

Next door, Nerd Envy moved out earlier this year, “and we’ve had some interest,” Knudson said. “It needs a little love, but I’ve had some showings, and it’s a mix of retail folks trying to get started. That’s kind of a perfect spot for a retailer.”

Others showing interest in spaces along Cliff Avenue include offices, a church and a child care center, he said.

Avera McKennan recently announced that the hospital campus will redesign its main entrance off Cliff Avenue with a new 220,000-square-foot tower for women’s and children’s services.

“I assume it has to be a good sign that between downtown keeping growing plus the medical, Avera, growing, it just reinvigorates, and I think there’s positive progress happening,” Knudson said. “All this nice growth in that area makes you think this could be some really nice real estate in the future.”