SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It would be a change from what was believed to be the type of development the former Gage Brothers property at Interstate 29 and 12th Street would have.
The Sioux Falls Planning Commission voted on Thursday to recommend a portion of the land in that area to be re-zoned from I-1 light residential to RA-3 apartment residential, high density. The first reading of the recommended change will be at the Jan. 21 city council meeting. If it advances, a second reading would be in February.
BRD Sioux Falls, LLP and Riley McLaughlin are listed on city documents as the applicant for the change in zoning.
The re-zoning is needed for 8.2 acres on which a four-story 178-unit apartment would be built. The building would have 267 parking spaces. This proposed project would be on about 5.4 acres of the 8.2 acres and be oriented to the west.
The full property is called Crossroads Development. The listing with Lloyd describes the area as suitable for potential restaurant, retail, hotel users, and corporate office park sites.
At least one nearby resident said during Thursday’s meeting that a high density apartment complex was not what they believed would be developed.
The Crossroads Development now has Northern Tool, Silverstar Carwash, Voyage Credit Union, Starbucks, Corner Pantry, The Keg Chicken, and IS Restaurant Design Equipment & Supply.
A city planning official said staff recommends the re-zoning because the proposed project fits within the city’s comprehensive plan. City staff described it as a “well-connected and accessible development.”
In May of 2021, Rachel Blount of Lloyd told KELOLAND News that the property could include new national retailers to corporate offices, fast food chains, coffee shops and hotels, that would transform this corner of Sioux Falls.
The owner of the property is listed as Crossroads, LLC – Al Spencer. Back in 2020, Al Spencer and Jim Soukup were announced as the new owners. Gage Brothers built a new plant in northeastern Sioux Falls.
The owners and development representatives have said over the past four years that the traffic in the I-29 and 12th Street are is one of the attractions to the property.
Heath Hoftiezer, a traffic operations engineer with the city, said in a December 2021 KELOLAND News story, that the 24-hour average daily traffic count that year to the west of the 12th Street and I-29 interchange was 35,780, said. The count to east of the interchange was 43,843.
Several opposed to the apartment project said adding 178 units would create too much traffic. The units include three and four bedrooms, which likely means more than one vehicle for each unit.
