Demolition begins as Steel District sets groundbreaking, prepares for condo sales
Aug. 4, 2021
Demolition of the former Sioux Steel property in downtown Sioux Falls has started – the first step in turning a decades-old manufacturing property into a mixed-use redevelopment.
Crews began with the northern portion of a 1990s-era metal manufacturing building that has been vacant for about a year. The process should take a couple of weeks, said Luke Jessen, senior director of development.
“And then, we’ll move right into utilities and getting dirt work done, and then we’ll start footings and foundations,” he said, adding that the oldest building on the property will remain.
The property being cleared is the future site of a mixed-used parking ramp that will include 95 apartments and an estimated 20 condominiums.
Interest in those has been extremely strong, Jessen said.
“We’re doing a private event tomorrow with about 50 people on our list and a virtual one next week, and we plan to start selling later this month,” he said. “If someone is interested, they should reach out, but we’ll start the sales process later this month.”
That will be an unconventional one. The plan is to accept bids from prospective owners on the four corner condominiums and the five brownstone-style ones first.
Bidders will specify a square footage and make an offer on it.
“And from there, if the corner units are so big we can’t do any more custom-size ones, we’re going to draw in lines and put the rest up for bid,” Jessen said. “If they’re more conservatively sized, we’ll do that (process) one more time on the units adjacent to the corner units where you can pick your size.”
To start, all units will be sold based on bids. If there are some remaining, prices will be set for them.
The brownstones can range from 1,500 to 2,500 square feet, and “we have a suggested layout, but people can choose to lay it out however they want,” Jessen said.
A groundbreaking for The Steel District, which also includes a Canopy by Hilton hotel, office building, three restaurants from well-known operators in the Twin Cities and retail space, is set for 4:30 p.m. Aug. 18.
