April 15, 2021

Here’s a sign that an area of town is coming into its own: the arrival of a traffic signal.

For the intersection of 77th Street and Cliff Avenue, that milestone will arrive this season, when the city plans to install a much-requested signal at a corner that now has the traffic to warrant one.

“There’s been a lot of apartment growth in that area, and with USF and Sioux Falls Christian, I know everyone in the area is looking forward to having that traffic signal there,” said Mark Cotter, the city’s director of public works, adding that the signal will be up before school starts this fall.

It’s the latest indicator of activity for an area that has experienced a lot of growth in recent months, with more on the way.

Ultimate Automotive is relocating its car repair business to the northeast corner of 77th and Cliff in a shop expected to open in June.

Across the street to the south, Spring Creek Luxury Living has two apartment buildings currently sitting at 100 percent capacity with a waitlist, and property manager Emily North said more buildings are planned.

Heading across Cliff Avenue to the southwest side of the intersection, more multifamily housing is planned via town homes and apartments as part of The Market at Grand Prairie development, said Joel Ingle, general manager of Harr & Lemme Commercial Real Estate.

And from Allison Bolger’s office at Thrivent Financial on the northwest side of the intersection, she keeps seeing more traffic and construction coming to the area. That’s one reason she decided to buy the building three months ago when it became available.

“It felt like a good investment to have commercial property in an area that’s booming,” Bolger said.

And booming it is.

A big driver in the commercial and residential development of this area is the proximity to the planned South Veterans Parkway project that will connect the highway from Interstate 90 to Interstate 29. The plans show the new stretch of highway crossing Cliff Avenue just south of 77th Street.

It’s a road that has been talked about since the mid-1990s when the state Department of Transportation first started looking at a roadway around the city of Sioux Falls.

But now there’s a definitive timeline for construction, which could mean the makings of a highway crossing 77th Street as soon as 2023.

“Those plans have gotten relatively aggressive within the last year,” Ingle said. “That helps that area immensely.”

But Ingle also notes that even before the major highway connection, the traffic signal is a big deal on its own.

“That’s a good indicator that we’ve reached a critical threshold,” he added.

That traffic is also what brought American State Bank to open its new 5,000-square-foot branch north of 85th Street on Cliff Avenue.

The bank opened in February and plans to do a grand-opening event yet this spring, said Ryan Mulder, market president.

The new location is convenient for banking customers, Mulder said, especially those coming from Harrisburg, an area he describes as “underbanked.”

“We have a lot of existing customers that live in this part of town,” he said. “We felt this location fit their needs.”

Early last year, All American Gymnastics Academy also moved to the area, an addition that North said appeals to the families who rent units at Spring Creek, where she also lives. Paws Pet Resort also added a second building with multiple indoor pools and a dock diving area.

From a residential standpoint, North said she initially moved to the area in early 2019. At that time, she described it as an “oasis out of town.” Now, the town is catching up.

“It’s busy here,” she said. “It definitely went from an empty parking lot to a full one. We’re actually getting stoplights.”