SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – As many of his friends will tell you, Craig Lloyd loved Sioux Falls, and his legacy has changed the way many of its residents live.

“He would look at a vacant lot and say, ‘Oh, I can build a five-story building here, and I can do this,'” longtime friend John Archer said.

Lloyd’s vision would transform what were once gravel roads into some of the city’s most popular shopping centers, like Meadows on the River in southwest Sioux Falls. It was one of his first commercial developments.

“It was amazing. I’m sure he had a lot of people that doubted him at the time,” Sioux Falls Director of Planning and Development Jeff Eckhoff said. “But now look at today- that’s one of the primary destinations in our city for shopping.”

Doubt didn’t scare Lloyd away from starting projects through all parts of town, like the east-side Dawley Farm Village.

“It was a vision just on a piece of paper at one time and working with some farmers and the land,” Eckhoff said. “Craig was the one that was able to work with the family and create the vision and stick to it.”

Llloyd’s most recent project may be one of his best known. The Steel District with its restaurants, lofts, hotel, and shopping opened last fall.

The Block 5 development in Rapid City will open later this year.

“I know that with his succession planning that he’s got everything in place to continue doing that,” Archer said. “That really was his legacy that he wanted to leave- that he could continue to keep, even when he’s not here, that Lloyd Company will continue to be building buildings like Craig Lloyd did.”

But even more than a developer, Lloyd was a dreamer.

“He wasn’t going to give up,” Archer said.

Lloyd also helped lead Sioux Falls projects like the Park Place Center, the Homan Family Development and Thelin Business Park.

You can view Lloyd’s obituary here.



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