Several parcels of industrial and housing properties owned by the Flandreau Development Corporation are sparking interest.
The FDC board agreed last week to sell the corner lot at Pipestone and Industrial to Ernie Claflin for his excavating company. The FDC will retain several feet of extra frontage, squaring it off with the property next door that leased by the South Dakota Army National Guard. The group’s goal is to make that area a more prominent entrance to Flandreau from the west.
Claflin recently has been renting the former transformer building on that site, and the rent payments will go toward purchasing the property and building, said Kelley Ramsdell, president of FDC.
The group also has heard from a retail company that is interested in buying the property on Pipestone east of Tractor Supply Co., which is listed at $80,000. The company, which has not been identified to the FDC, would bring 15 to 20 jobs to town and more than $1 million in sales a year, according to information provided.
Because the lot is prime retail property, the board said it will seek additional information before deciding. The FDC also has had interest from a local potential buyer who would like the property in a few years, Ramsdell said.
“There’s got to be a good use for this lot,” she said. The group want to make sure whoever buys it is the right fit because there are few opportunities like the one offered with this property, she said.
Several people also have inquired about buying lots in Southview Heights, although none are sold yet. Buyers include young families from the area and elsewhere and people who have moved away but hope to move back, Ramsdell said.
“There definitely is some chatter going on with them,” she said.
The group is going to look at defining home values for each lot, a price point that buyers would be expected to follow when building.
“I think Southview Heights is going to go fast,” said Mike Witte, who also is on the housing and economic development committee with Ramsdell and others.
In other business, the group elected its officers for the coming year. Ramsdell will serve a second year as president, and Witte will serve a second year as vice president. Jessica Hovland was elected secretary, and Jenna Carr was reelected as treasurer.
