Jan. 22, 2024

It likely won’t be long before new residents begin describing their location using one common corridor: Six Mile Road on the east side of Sioux Falls.

The north-south road is drawing interest from multiple developers — mostly for residential growth at this point, though commercial might not be far behind.

“The big focus of course is on Veterans Parkway, but then you look to the next corridor, and certainly that is Six Mile Road,” said Jeff Eckhoff, director of planning and development services for the city of Sioux Falls. “It’s in our development area, so it’s certainly developable. I don’t know if it’s a corridor today, but it certainly will be in the near future, and it’s something we need to pay it attention to.”

As dirt begins to move and the corridor takes shape, development plans exist from as far north as 10th Street south to 57th Street. The northernmost intersection, at  10th, likely will be residential development, said Zach Jacobsen, finance broker for the property’s owner, Signature Cos.

“It will be town homes along Six Mile up to 10th,” he said. “There’s a creek that runs through there, and that will be housing.”

South to Arrowhead Parkway, though, more options open up. That’s the most developed area so far, where Signature has moved its own office off of Arrowhead Parkway and added multiple apartment complexes, a Casey’s convenience store and a new location for The Alibi and The Scapegoat.

Next up likely will be more office activity, a four-story apartment building is under construction, and a child care center is considering taking two of the available lots. There’s also a plan to add another retail center similar to what Signature developed at 69th Street and Cliff Avenue.

“We put it out there what we’re planning on doing, and through word of mouth, we’ve had two or three prospects reach out about a potential restaurant, financial services and another prospect kicking tires in the area,” Jacobsen said.

East of that, approaching Six Mile Road, “it’s pretty much a blank slate,” he continued. “We have The Alibi over there, and as far as that corner, we’ve had discussions with a few prospects, but nothing came from it.”

Options include enough land for everything from a grocery store to quick-service restaurants or potentially another convenience store.

“It’s going to be a desired corner as we work our way to the east, especially with all the residential,” Jacobsen said.

And there’s going to be a lot of residential growth.

Along Six Mile Road south to 26th Street, there was noticeable dirt-moving late last year in preparation for grading the site for residential building. The future development, The Village at Split Rock, is “going to be a mix of single-family, multifamily or town homes,” Jacobsen said.

“I think we’re seeing more and more people move to the southeast side of Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls has to grow somewhere, and that’s what we’ve been seeing. The Brandon school district has been desired, and (this area) allows people to be in the Brandon school district who still want the amenities (of Sioux Falls).”

It could be later this year or into next year before commercial development, but like Arrowhead Parkway and Six Mile Road, the intersection at 26th Street also will have available land for something like a convenience store.

“I think that’s going to be a pretty hot corner,” Jacobsen said.

Six Mile Road broadly is “certainly on the radar,” Eckhoff said, adding the area will be “more neighborhood commercial. It serves that dense area that will be built in. You would see a convenience store, some restaurants and services for those neighborhoods.”

To the south, multiple residential developments are planned or under construction.

Empire Cos. is constructing its 41 Six development at 41st Street and Six Mile Road, which will bring a 150-unit multifamily project along with twin homes, town homes and single-family homes.

“Our first (apartment) deliveries will come in January,” vice president Brady Hyde said. “We have probably five buildings framed out there, the first building is coming in January and then probably 18 months to completion.”

He estimates that “we are probably 60 to 65 percent through that project as far as both completed homes and lot sales, so it’s turned into a neighborhood,” he said. “We have a fair amount of homeowners, so it’s been a good neighborhood.”

The southeast corner of 41st Street and Six Mile Road is planned for about 45 acres of development, with 12 acres designated for multifamily and the rest planned as single family, he said.

“We’ll open up another development at some point on 57th and Six Mile, on the south side of 57th,” Hyde said, adding it could come within 12 to 18 months.

“There’s so much activity with the schools, 57th Street, Dawley Farms nearby, so it turned out to be quite the corridor. It came together quickly.”