July 27, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

A new leader is helping guide growth in the community of Brandon — and he has a lot to keep him busy.

A Michigan native, Patrick Andrews earned his bachelor’s degrees in political science and urban and regional planning from Michigan State University and graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law. He’s licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

After practicing law for a few years in Cleveland, he was ready for a change and moved to South Dakota, becoming the land use planner for the South Eastern Council of Governments for six years before transitioning to the city of Brandon earlier this year.

We caught up with him to learn more about his role and the growth the community is experiencing.

What appealed to you about helping guide development in Brandon, and what all does your role entail?

After working at SECOG, it’ll be nice to settle down a bit and focus on one community. I always enjoyed working with the city, so it seemed like a pretty natural transition.

My role with the city is threefold:

As the development director, I oversee the building department, which includes planning and zoning, building permits, code enforcement and inspections. I’m also beginning to dabble in marketing the city, as well as working with GOED (Governor’s Office of Economic Development) and the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance to recruit businesses to Brandon.

I’m the secretary/treasurer of the Brandon Development Foundation. In that role, I handle the foundation’s day-to-day operations, including paying the bills, communicating with businesses looking to purchase industrial land, preparing the monthly agenda, maintaining their website, etc.

I’m the secretary/treasurer of the Brandon Revolving Loan Foundation. While that organization has been somewhat dormant lately, it’s an extension of the city that uses grant funding to provide small loans for local development. Most recently, it was involved in providing small loans to local businesses during COVID.

What is Brandon’s activity level looking like in 2022 so far? It seems like there are multiple major developments underway.

2022 has been busy. So far this year, our local contractors have been actively building homes all over town. As of the end of June, we’ve issued 30 new permits for single-family homes and one new permit for a twin home. Currently, our biggest nonresidential developments include Encore Park, the Rovang Industrial Park and the Brandon 90 Plaza. We are lucky to have a lot of outstanding developers in the area that are willing to invest in Brandon. There’s definitely not a shortage of new buildings popping up all over Brandon.

How is activity in Brandon’s industrial sector? Are you seeing interest in the industrial park?

The Rovang Industrial Park is filling up quickly. Assuming all our purchase agreements finalize into sales, we have three lots left: one rail-accessible lot and two nonrail-accessible lots. I field at least one call, often more, a week from companies looking to potentially locate in Rovang. We recently signed a purchase agreement with a company for approximately 20 acres of rail-accessible property. Hopefully, there will be an announcement soon about that. We look forward to making them a part of the community.

Away from the Rovang Industrial Park, Encore Park on the western side of the city is a huge development for Brandon. Hegg Cos. has been great to work with, and we’re excited to work with them to help make their project successful.

What about other commercial activity? Are you seeing retail growth in the area?

We seem to be adding new businesses every day. Fareway Stores Inc. will be building a new full-service neighborhood grocery store in Encore Park. Dairy Queen is building a location next to Brandon Valley High School. While those are probably the two big developments, we have projects going on all over town. So far this year, we’ve issued 32 commercial building permits, with a total valuation of $30,268,620.

Brandon has been a longtime choice for new residents, and you are seeing continued residential development – both single and multifamily?

Along with this year’s 30 single-family and one twin home permit through the end of June, we’ve had several conversations with developers about future mixed-density residential developments.

In addition to new residential developments, the city has also been focused on increasing the quality of life in existing residential neighborhoods. Currently, our Core Area Reconstruction Project consists of complete roadway and infrastructure reconstruction of Brandon’s downtown, including, but not limited to, the addition of sidewalks, new water, new sanitary sewer, LED street lighting and improvements to storm water quality.

How closely do you work with the school district, which also is a big draw for Brandon? Are they also planning to meet the demands of growth?

I’ve had some discussions with the school district but not a ton. The Brandon Valley School District and the city of Brandon have always had a mutually supportive relationship. Currently, the Brandon Valley School District is the fourth largest school district in South Dakota, with approximately 7,200 to 7,400 students. With the growth of Brandon, that number is sure to increase. To meet that demand, the district is currently expanding the existing high school and has plans to build a new elementary school.

From a city standpoint, that expansion creates new opportunities. For example, the city is currently working with a developer on a multi-density residential development adjacent to the proposed new elementary school. We are excited to work with both the district and that private developer to integrate their projects into the city and help them be successful.

Are there are other projects or prospects you’re prioritizing in terms of development this year?

While the big projects get a lot of attention, it’s important to not underestimate the impacts of small projects on the livability of the community. Whether it’s somebody setting up an in-home day care, a local church organizing a festival in the park or somebody leasing a building for a haunted house in the fall, the small projects are what transform Brandon from just a place to live to a successful community. It’s my priority to help encourage these passion projects and do what I can in my various roles to help them be successful.