Aug. 27, 2024

A vacant east-side former Pizza Hut site has been purchased by the city of Sioux Falls, and the building will be demolished.

The city acquired the property at 2800 E. 10th St. looking ahead at road improvements that could be needed in the area.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation has identified the need to make ramp improvements to the interchange at 10th Street and Interstate 229.

Along with that, the city has recognized that “you have an existing congestion problem at 10th and Cleveland,” assistant city engineer Shannon Ausen said.

The city has looked at multiple alternatives, including some that would widen Cleveland Avenue on the west side, which would impact Arby’s and Fryn’ Pan. But there’s also a chance to widen slightly to the east instead, Ausen said.

“About six months ago, a ‘for sale’ or ‘for lease’ sign came up on the Pizza Hut … and we were able to reach an agreement, and that’s why we acquired it, for the future.”

The former restaurant “drew significant interest from a multitude of potential buyers,” said Mike Knudson of Van Buskirk Cos., the listing agent for the property. “Everything from pizza to coffee to vape retailers. We had conversations with many, many groups.”

Ultimately, a sale to the city of Sioux Falls made the most sense given the significant road projects coming, he said.

“Pizza Hut relocated to Dawley Farm Village last year. Their relocation was the result of the city’s east-side growth and the need to cover a wider delivery area,” Knudson added.

The state’s interchange project likely would be done over three years beginning in 2028, and the city likely would do its work in conjunction with that, Ausen said. So no design has been finalized yet, but owning the property allows the city to keep its options open.

The plan is to demolish the building sometime in the next month.

In the meantime, the city’s work on East 10th Street this season, from I-229 to a little east of Sycamore Avenue, includes a new lane from I-229 east to about Thompson Avenue “to try to help with the existing congestion we are seeing on the northbound and eastbound off-ramps,” Ausen said.

“Our traffic model shows that it will help just to get the intersection cleared a little bit. When you are traveling westbound, it’s not going to help much because westbound getting on the interstate is backed up through Cleveland and has been for years. That interchange was constructed in 1997 … and we just should have made it wider.”