Here are some tid-bits I found recently.
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The first building to be constructed from scratch at Uptown at Falls Park is likely to be seven stories high. Developers have considered various heights, ranging from six stories and up. However, architect Jeff Hazard and others involved in the project said recently that the building is now envisioned to be seven stories high.
The Arches is expected to be constructed on the west side of Phillips Avenue at Fourth Street. It will have residential and commercial space. An archway over the street would connect north and south portions of the structure.
Construction originally was expected to begin this fall but has been pushed back to spring.
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Sioux Falls has attracted a new player in the hotel industry.
A business group based in Wichita, Kan., plans to develop a Value Place hotel near the southeast corner of Interstate 29 and 12th Street.
Value Place, an extended-stay hotel franchise, also is based in Wichita.
Michael Monteferrante, a developer, is the managing partner of VP 1 LLC, which plans to build the Sioux Falls hotel on vacant property near Bierschbach Equipment & Supply on Lyons Avenue.
“Our group is going to continue to develop Value Place hotels. We have an appreciation of the Midwest and want to continue to develop in the Midwest,” says Monteferrante, who is also the chief executive officer of Occidental Management Inc. in Wichita and has relatives in the Sioux Falls area.
VP 1 LLC plans a three-story, 124-room hotel designed for business travelers, temporarily displaced families and others who are attracted to an apartment-like setting.
Amy Ibis of the Graham Organization has been helping the group get through the Sioux Falls regulatory process. Completion of the preliminary work could take a few more weeks, she says.
The Wichita group hopes to begin construction of the hotel in September.
“We hope to be open for business in March of next year,” Monteferrante says.
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Big plan in works
Site2, a land development and design company in Sioux Falls, is in the early stages of planning a building that could significantly enhance the southern downtown area.
Clayton Jamison and Bob Natz of Site2, along with an unidentified third partner, are not releasing details yet, including the exact location. However, Natz says the group envisions a four- to five-story commercial building that could have a long-lasting impact on the city.
“It’s really an exciting project,” Natz says. “It will do a lot to help Sioux Falls and its future growth.”
To this point, Site2 probably is best known for developing upscale housing in southern Sioux Falls.
More details on the downtown project are expected in a matter of weeks.
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An Aug. 28 groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for two hotels coming to Sioux Falls, but construction already is under way.
Courtyard by Marriott and SpringHill Suites by Marriott will replace the former Radisson Encore Hotel, which has been demolished.
The new hotels are projected to open in April or May of 2008.
The construction area is northwest of The Empire Mall, at the southeast corner of I-29 and 41st Street.
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It will be interesting to see what is actually built at the Uptown Project. Hopefully we can get several structures taller than the seven story building planned.
