Jan. 25, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

Adam Walsh and his family moved to Harrisburg from Yankton 10 years ago, and in that decade, the community has transformed.

“The momentum in the last few years has been tremendous,” said Walsh, vice president and commercial lender at First International Bank & Trust, who is wrapping up his term as the Harrisburg Economic Development Corporation board chair.

“Harrisburg continues to set consecutive records for sales tax growth and experience strong building activity, and we think we have great opportunities headed into this year and beyond.”

For the past two years, the state’s fastest-growing community has partnered with Sioux Metro Growth Alliance to contract its economic development services, providing a part-time specialist to help advance Harrisburg’s goals and capture opportunities.

Starting this month, Bryce Healy, SMGA’s new economic development specialist, will be working with Harrisburg – and it couldn’t be a better fit.

“My children all went to school in Harrisburg, and it’s been a community we’ve embraced as a family,” he said. “The potential for growth and excitement around what’s going on in Harrisburg is huge, and it’s a phenomenal opportunity for me to take my skill set and give back to the community I love, in an area I love and be part of things moving forward.”

There’s already a lot happening.

“After a little slowdown last year, we see more residential coming and more commercial activity,” Walsh said. “Kwik Star opened last year, and it is working on a second location, plus Scooter’s, Dairy Queen and Avera all own land, so there are really good prospects in the pipeline and projects coming up.”

Harrisburg also is investing in the necessary infrastructure to support growth, community leaders said.

“Harrisburg is in a unique position in terms of Sioux Falls suburbs,” said Marcus Mahlen, senior vice president at NAI Sioux Falls and incoming board chair of the Harrisburg Economic Development Corporation.

“It’s grown exponentially in the last 20 years but still has plenty of room to grow. The city has a proven track record of being able to get sewer and infrastructure to the north and northwest of town to be able to push north toward Sioux Falls and has significant capacity to continue that surge.”

The expanded wastewater treatment plant “will really help our future growth,” Walsh agreed. “We’re also coming off the largest road construction season in Harrisburg’s history, so I hope we stay ahead of the curve and continue to make the necessary investments in infrastructure to support growth.”

The partnership with SMGA brings significant value, he added.

“The whole SMGA team is focused on economic development, so everyone is bouncing ideas off each other and learning from one another because they breathe it every day,” Walsh said. “Economic development is regional, and relationships are important, so we’re just delighted to now be working with Bryce and leverage his background and experience.”

Healy’s initial priorities will include building on a feasibility study done last year on opportunities for hotel development.

“We’re zeroing in on land and have a development group putting together concepts for a hotel, so there are active prospects,” Mahlen said. “There’s also desire from the community’s perspective for more office users – Harrisburg doesn’t have a law firm, for example — and in industrial development, Harrisburg is significantly behind if you look at sales tax. We’re going to focus on finding the gaps, who needs to be involved in land development and how we will provide ancillary benefits to private developers.”

Longer term, there are “active discussions about how  we get out to the interstate,” he continued. “It could be a decade out, but we’re having the right discussions about how to get out there.”

As the population approaches 10,000, it also opens up more opportunities for retail. Harrisburg will work with a consultant this year to identify potential opportunities to grow that sector.

“They certainly have needs, but the city is well positioned,” Healy said. “There’s great leadership, whether it’s city staff or elected officials. They’re forward-thinking people who understand the needs and are committed to meeting them.”

He thinks back on his own career history, which includes a decade as executive director of the Associated General Contractors of South Dakota and programs he helped run to encourage students to pursue the industry.

“We’d tell them, ‘Someday, you’ll be able to drive by a facility and say you were part of building it.’ And I’ve taken that same approach to Harrisburg,” he said. “The work we’re doing today is going to create substantial growth that will reach far into the future.”