March 6, 2025

The downtown location for First Interstate Bank is getting a face-lift.

The bank, which merged with Great Western Bancorp in 2022, is at 225 S. Main Ave. and has six additional branches in Sioux Falls.

“We love our location,” said Jay Mitchell, Sioux Empire market president. “It varies with some departments working from home, but at any one time, we could have a couple hundred people in the building. It ranges from our retail space, commercial bankers, operations folks, kind of a wide variety of people.”

The building was constructed in 1965, with the third floor added to the north end plus a parking ramp in 1989.

The project to update the exterior of the building will continue into midsummer. Cushing Terrell is the architect, ISG is the structural engineer, and Gil Haugan Construction is the contractor.

“It’s just a more modern, refreshed feel,” said Seth Morgan, corporate construction manager. “We’re going away from a grate system on the outside to more of a modern metal panel and pipe system.”

File photo from July 2018

The north side of the building will receive additional windows, and the east side will have an updated awning and entrance.

“We’re just excited to move forward … and just improve the look of the building,” Mitchell said. “We’re in such a good location downtown that it’s just an opportunity to reiterate our commitment and long-term investment into downtown Sioux Falls and just provide a more welcoming approach and entrance for clients.”

First Interstate consolidated a former operations center in northwest Sioux Falls into the downtown location, and remote work is done differently department by department.

No additional branches currently are planned for the market, Mitchell said.

“We’re always looking at things, but as of right now, we don’t have any immediate plans,” he said. “We feel pretty comfortable with the group we have right now.”