Jan. 30, 2025

Craig Lloyd, the developer who did more to shape the face of Sioux Falls over half a century than any other, will be laid to rest next week.

His visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, with a prayer service beginning at 5 p.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church. Funeral services will be at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, also at the church.

To view his full obituary, click here.

Friends and colleagues are remembering the man who was a builder in every sense of the word.

Lloyd built homes, he built apartments, he built mixed-used developments, and, most critically in his words, he built the relationships that made them all happen.

But first, he built little wood huts using scrap lumber in the dirt of western North Dakota, where he spent part of his childhood as his father, Richard, chased opportunities in the state’s 1950s oil boom.

“‘Craig, you can do anything you want,'” his father used to tell him, as Lloyd recounted in a 2015 speech while being inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. “‘You just dream it and work hard, and you’ll succeed.'”

For more than five decades, that was the mantra.

It was how the self-described “dumb contractor” who overcame dyslexia and visual impairment would bring a vision for development through Lloyd Cos. that helped move Sioux Falls from a town to a city.

“If Sioux Falls had a Mount Rushmore of leaders, Craig Lloyd’s face would undoubtedly be on it,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said.

“Craig is that rare combination of being a smart and shrewd businessman while simultaneously having a heart like a lion. God broke the mold with him.”

Lloyd died Wednesday at age 76, following complications of a lung condition.

“He’s an important part of Sioux Falls history,” said former Mayor Dave Munson, who worked closely with Lloyd on developments from 2002 to 2010.

“He was incredibly instrumental in making this city what it is today, and he never did it with a great deal of fanfare. He just did it because it was the right thing to do. I trusted him a lot. If he told you he would do something, he would get it done.”

Lloyd credited “patient bankers, patient investors and patient co-workers” for working through his paths to bring ideas to fruition.

“I’ve done a lot of contracts on napkins — usually bar napkins — and I’ve done a lot of handshakes with no contracts,” he said. “It drives my lawyer nuts, but we usually seem to work through it.”

Tom Walsh Sr. concurred, having witnessed several of them.

“Craig was notorious for doing things on a handshake,” he said. “For the success he’s had, he’s so humble and such a wonderful, caring person. A class act.”

The two met in the 1980s when Craig and Pat Lloyd were developing Clock Tower Square at 41st Street and Marion Road, and Walsh bought land from them for a future Burger King, plus agreed to lease his office in the building.

While the Lloyds were newer to Sioux Falls and to development, “he was very sincere, kind and caring,” Walsh remembered. “He was a hard worker. He was building houses on his own, and him and Pat were doing everything together. Just a solid, caring guy. That was the beginning of the relationship, and it grew and grew.”

The Lloyds came to Sioux Falls in 1972 from Minnesota to work for Craig’s uncle managing an affordable housing community in southwest Sioux Falls. They lived there themselves until they built their first house the following year — the beginning of Lloyd Construction.

They navigated the 1980s as new small-business owners cleaning apartments and built screen doors to ensure that they could keep paying their employees and lenders.

“I always admired his perseverance and focus. He just never took his eye off the ball no matter how bad the circumstances and challenges might be,” said Mike Tennyson, who met Lloyd in the 1980s and later served 14 years on the Lloyd Cos. board of directors.

“He always persevered and always came out the other end.”

Shortly after arriving in Sioux Falls, Lloyd and city planner Steve Metli found a common bond in their love of downtown. The two would walk along the Big Sioux River with peanut butter sandwiches at lunch, picking up trash and visioning around what the area could become.

“I think his initial 20, 25 years were very stressful and strenuous,” Metli said in a 2015 news story. “Every time the economy went up, he’d go up with it, and every time it went down, he’d go down. So he learned through the school of hard knocks to manage his business with that in mind.”

In housing, Lloyd distinguished himself by taking on multiple affordable housing developments, often working with nonprofits to put deals together.

“I think he’s probably done more to help people stay off the streets in Sioux Falls than any person I can think of,” Metli said in 2015.

TenHaken echoed similar thoughts.

“If you think in terms of housing alone, Craig Lloyd has ensured that thousands of families have had safe, secure and affordable housing over the years,” he said. “No one person has had a bigger impact on housing families in Sioux Falls than Craig.”

Lloyd’s signature developments citywide include Clock Tower, Park Place Center, Meadows on the River, Thelin Business Park, Royal Oak, The Edges, Dawley Farm Village and the Homan family development at 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue.

His biggest investments, though, were in downtown Sioux Falls. In the mid-2000s, after the completion of Phillips to the Falls, he led the only group to respond to the city’s request for proposals to redevelop North Phillips and North Main avenues.

“He understood the value of a downtown in growing a city,” Munson said. “He saw how downtowns are what make communities unique and what make young people want to stay here. It was a challenge, but he did it. He saw what could happen with Phillips to the Falls finished, and for him, the possibilities were endless. I don’t think he ever wanted to stop.”

Lloyd’s commitment to downtown continued with the openings of the Uptown and Lumber Exchange developments, which brought new properties, including The Cascade at Falls Park, the CNA Surety Building and Hilton Garden Inn Downtown.

Late last year, he fulfilled the vision he and Metli would dream about at Falls Park, as he and Pat helped open the adjacent Steel District mixed-use development and became the first people to check in at its Canopy by Hilton hotel.

“He really loved the city,” said Paul Schiller, who became the second guest to check in with his wife, Koni.

“It was fun throwing ideas at him because he loved that.”

As a person, what stood out was “how caring and concerned he was of everyone else,” Koni Schiller said. “He just dropped whatever he was doing, and you felt like you were the only one in the whole world he was going to talk to.”

Schiller remembers sitting around a small table with Lloyd overlooking downtown and talking about the concept to put up a piece of sculpture that would become the Arc of Dreams.

Five minutes into the presentation, Lloyd stopped him.

“He says, ‘What’s it going to take to get to the next level?'”

Schiller replied $25,000 and left with the funds committed.

“He picks up on ideas and then makes them happen, and he’s got the courage to do so,” Schiller said. “He’s a remarkable human being, and we were damned lucky to have him.”

Downtown “is what it is because of Craig Lloyd,” added Munson, who toured The Steel District with Lloyd last month. “I thought to myself, ‘This is the future.’ People are amazed by what we have here now. But he was a doer, and he made us better.”

Lloyd also believed strongly in philanthropy, modeling it within his family and motivating others in the community to give with him.

“Craig was a visionary leader and a true champion for philanthropy in Sioux Falls,” said Andy Patterson, CEO of the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.

“His generosity has shaped our community in countless ways, leaving a lasting impact that will be felt for generations. Craig’s influence and dedication have been an inspiration to our city and to all of us at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.”

From a board perspective, Lloyd Cos. is set to continue thanks to years of planning and preparation, Tennyson said.

“I couldn’t feel better about the position of the company right now,” he said. “We all know our day is coming, and Craig was a very strong believer in succession planning. Even for the VPs, it’s always been a focus. So I feel very good about that. I think the relationships with our lenders are very positive. We’ve been very transparent with the community of lenders that we deal with about … what the company’s plans were for the transition.”

Lloyd served as board chair at the time of his death and was succeeded as CEO by his nephew Chris Thorkelson in 2016.

In their final meeting, Munson said they talked about Lloyd’s vision for what he wanted to build next.

“We’ll see his fingerprints on many things for many decades to come,” Munson said. “He should be remembered forever.”

In Lloyd’s memory, contributions may be made to the Lloyd Family Charitable Fund at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. To donate online, click here.

Watch live: Craig Lloyd funeral at 4 p.m.

Jodi’s Journal: In Lloyd’s legacy lives the story of Sioux Falls

Craig Lloyd, developer who helped shape modern Sioux Falls, dies at 76