The newest Sioux Falls Cherapa building opens soon. Here's how the project is taking shape
Cherapa Place in downtown Sioux Falls is rapidly coming together as the development prepares to open its newest building this September.
The project is being built upon the original Cherapa Apex site along the Big Sioux River and will feature a total of four buildings and a parking ramp once complete. Together, the development will provide more than 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space as well as 5,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces.
Cherapa will also be home to more than 800 corporate employees working downtown and 232 apartment buildings.
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Pendar Properties, the company behind the development, is gearing up to have the second building, also called the Bancorp building, open Sept. 1, along with the parking ramp on the complex. The third building will open in May 2024 and the fourth in July 2024.
Here’s a closer look at where this project stands today:
Bancorp building home to corporations, condos
The Bancorp building is just north of the original Cherapa Place. The 10-story building is named for the bank holding company Bancorp, a company that will bring in more than $10,000 in revenue to the state by moving its headquarters to South Dakota, according to Anne Haber, a partner with Pendar Properties. The Bancorp holding company is currently based out of Delaware.
In addition to Bancorp, companies like MarketBeat, Eide Bailey and ISG will also have headquarters in the building, along with others sharing multi-tenant office spaces. ISG is the architecture firm designing the project.
The building will feature a third floor conference center that connects to the Cherapa Apex via skywalk. Above the skywalk is a rooftop terrace where people can relax, look over the river, mingle and play games like table tennis, Haber said.
“It will also be a great place for events and for corporate lunches for their employees,” she added.
The top two floors of the Bancorp building will feature 11 luxury condos with views overlooking downtown. All but one had been sold as of mid-June. There will also be some retail opportunities on the first floor along Reid Place, which is getting expanded to 6th Street, coming up near the new 6th Street Bridge.
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“The investment that the public is making right here – it's going to be beautiful,” Haber said. “6th Street will just be revolutionized, so it'll be awesome.”
Retail, apartment buildings filling up ahead of next summer
Buildings three and four are named The Clark and The Dakota, respectively.
The six-story mass timber apartment and retail buildings will feature an array of studios to three-bedroom/three-bathroom layouts, and they’ve already started leasing. The Clark is over 85% leased out, but there are a lot of options left for The Dakota, Haber said.
The layouts were designed during COVID-19 with work-from-home in mind, she added. Many of the apartments include dens or offices. While in the pre-leasing stage, future residents are able to choose some of the finishes in their apartments, like countertops and patio planters.
Each building has its own private roof deck and amenities such as a sauna, fireplaces, games like shuffleboard or table tennis and lounge areas.
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The Clark and The Dakota will also each include 30,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor, which would also include a prospective grocer.
“We have a fun restaurant concept for the corner (of The Dakota), and a really beautiful gym coming in that area with an outdoor fitness component,” Haber said.
She said Pendar Properties is getting ready to announce new retailers soon.
Parking and pedestrian space
In addition to the 650-stall parking ramp, there is also underground parking across the whole site. A tunnel connects the underground parking for buildings two and three, coming up at the parking ramp, while buildings one and four have their own entrance.
“When you stand on Reid, you’re actually standing on the parking structure under the road,” Haber said.
Total, there will be nearly 1,200 parking spaces between underground, ramp and surface parking.
A plaza area between each set of buildings will also serve as a courtyard and central gathering space for those who live and work in the development. There will also be an onsite dog park and dog wash station at The Clark and The Dakota.
The pedestrian areas connect to bike trails on both sides of the complex, and there will be fun art installations throughout the development, too.
“Our goal was really to try and create a community like no place else,” Haber said. “Sustainable, vibrant. All to live, work and play right on the river.”
People can follow along with Cherpa online.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Cherapa Place gets ready to open. Here's how it shapes up.
