Nov. 10, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.

Many may remember — and others likely have heard the history — when downtown Sioux Falls was not quite the center of life for the city that it is today.

If the walls could talk at the First National Bank building at 100 S. Phillips Ave., they would tell stories of not only the best days in downtown but also some of the most dismal days.

Originally built in 1976, the building stood witness to multiple downtown revitalization efforts, including one that would leave its mark on the bank up until just recently.

Downtown revitalization

In the early 1970s, the city elected to turn parts of Phillips Avenue into a pedestrian mall to compete with the burgeoning indoor malls that would begin to pop up throughout the city.

The FNB building was built as a stand-alone structure amid the downtown pedestrian mall.

But by the mid-1980s, this pedestrian mall was deemed a failure, and the city began undoing its efforts and returning Phillips to the way it was.

Around this same time, in 1985, the First Financial Center building was built to the south of the First National Bank building.

An atrium was added between the two, connecting the buildings and encasing the remains of the pedestrian mall that stood between them — including concrete flooring in the west entrance, brick planters throughout the atrium and outdoor furniture complete with patio umbrellas.

That was how the atrium looked since it was built all the way to 2021.

And the bank’s main lobby was left to match, undergoing only minor updates since the building was built in 1976.

During those years, First National Bank itself contributed much to the revitalization of downtown, supporting numerous restaurants and businesses that call the city’s hub home: 605 Running Co., Mama’s Ladas and Terra Shepherd Boutique & Apothecary, just to name a few.

But for a bank that has been ingrained in downtown Sioux Falls for the past 137 years, it was time to give its 46-year-old building its own revitalization effort.

All it would take for that to happen was a sign from above.

Then, one day, some bricks fell off the outside of the building.

A sign from above

As it would turn out, the fallen bricks indicated that the building had some structural issues in need of repair.

And since the outside of the building needed to be redone, the facilities team at First National decided it was time to update the inside too.

“We always had this dream of taking out the planter on the north side of the building, opening up the first-floor lobby and adding a grand entrance through the atrium,” said Bob Baker, FNB’s director of corporate affairs. “With the changes on the outside of the building, we saw an opportunity to make those dreams a reality.”

FNB’s facilities team focused on three main priorities for the remodel: recapturing valuable office space, consolidating the five entrances for the building into two, and updating and modernizing the overall look of the first floor and atrium.

Check out these “before and after” images!

The bank was able to reclaim 12 feet of space on the north side of the building by removing the old planter and pushing the north offices out so they were flush with the rest of the building.

Old entrances were closed up, so only two remain: one on the east side of the building from the parking lot and one on the west side of the building off Phillips Avenue. Both doorways open into the wide-open atrium and provide access to a single entrance into the first-floor lobby. 

Those were the more technical of the priorities.

The last one was a little more fun: modernizing and updating the space.

In the atrium, the patio furniture is long gone. In its place, you’ll find much more comfortable and stylish seating areas in which to lounge.

To replace the staircase that was removed from the main lobby, a new one was added in the atrium that will better serve both FNB and the tenants in the First Financial Center.

Gone are the heavy wood accents and “sunburst” in the main lobby.

Instead, you will find classy wood features, pops of red on chairs and light fixtures, and pentagonal accents on the ceiling to reflect FNB’s logo.

As far as personnel goes, the entirety of the FNB business banking team — aside from the three business bankers located at the bank’s Benson Road branch — has office space on the first floor.

The credit team, which works closely with the business banking team, also is located there.

“As a business-lending leader in the community, we knew we wanted to have the business banking team on the first floor for easy access,” Baker said. “Our credit department works closely with our business bankers, so we also wanted to incorporate that team for better collaboration.”

In addition to the business banking side, there is also a full personal banking team on the first floor as well as a mortgage banker and a wealth advisor.

When you come to visit the remodeled First National Bank building, the team will be ready to provide you with an all-around banking experience!

The future at First National Bank

The facilities team isn’t done just yet.

The next phase in the remodel involves renovating and reconfiguring the second floor of the building — a project that Baker estimates will be completed within six to nine months.

When it’s all said and done, the team at First National hopes to get another 45-year return on investment from this remodel.

But for now, they urge you to come see the updated first floor and atrium for yourself.

“I encourage everyone to come in and experience the remodel,” said Kae Klinkenborg, facilities experience manager at FNB. “It’s hard to even imagine what it looked like before because the transformation is so amazing.”

You can visit First National Bank’s newly renovated downtown branch at 100 S. Phillips Ave.; lobby hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays!