Sioux City Development Thread

[DMRyan]

I'm acknowledging that I may be posting to myself and that this forum doesn't get a lot of traffic, but I couldn't stand to see the Iowa subforum without any topics, so I'll try to fill some in as time allows.

Anyways, Sioux City is a metro area that crosses into Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, and is the primary city of NW Iowa.  Situated on the Missouri River and at the northern terminus of the beautiful Loess Hills land formation, the metro is has about 145,000 people in it with a CSA that is much closer to 200,000 people.  The economy is heavy on food processing and manufacturing, but once had a much larger white collar job base when Gateway Computers, IBP, and Tetra Chemical Company were headquartered there.  While a small city, much of the city proper is quite urban, gritty, and historic-- a marked opposite of the largely white collar, quickly growing and more prosperous and suburban Sioux Falls metro about an hour an a half to the north.  The downtown and nearby industrial areas have fairly large brick warehouse districts and even once had an elevated railrway before it was decommissoned!  The place isn't known for it's skyline, but there is a pretty ample supply of historic building stock to repurpose, and there is an abundance of Prairie School-styled architecture throughout, which the city has come to embrace  on newer public construction projects.

 

The most significant project underway right now is the historic restoration of art deco Warrior Hotel.  This 10-story  building has been vacant since 1976 and it's boarded up windows and failed reuse schemes over the years were an ominus cloud over their downtown.  A company called Restoration St. Louis is spending $73 million to renovate The Warrior and adjacent Davidson Building into a 148 Marriott Autograph Hotel, upscale apartments, street level retail, and some office space, which is slated to be completed later this year.

Historic Building image

Vacant for many years

Progress

Davidson Building next door, also getting a rehab

[DMRyan]

The Bluebird Lofts will convert the former Commerce/Motor Mart building into 77 apartment units with first floor retail space.  The fifth floor roof garden will be converted to office space.

Historic Building Image

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Rendering- yes there will be hundreds of new LED lights being installed on the exterior, just like the original building had.

Progress

The Urbane 1220 project will be a new 5-story, 56 unit apartment project in DT Sioux City, and will add 6,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.

Edited April 26, 2020 by DMRyan

[DMRyan]

The historic Art Deco Badgerow Building has been purchased to the city, who will be doing an RFP for the adaptive reuse of the building.  Future use yet unknown, but at least's it's in good hands now.

[DMRyan]

I have no idea it will still happen in the aftermath of coronavirus, but this lovely architectural gem of a hotel is slated to be renovated and convered to a Cambria Inn & Suites with 123 rooms.  This has been a Hilton, a Clarion, a Howard Johnson, and a no-name independent hotel over the years, but currently sits empty as the quality of the building has continued to detioriate.  The hotel is connected to the City's convention center.

On the other side of the convention center, a new Marriott Courtyard Hotel just opened up earlier this year.

Edited April 26, 2020 by DMRyan

[DMRyan]

The Benson Building has been purchased and is just starting the development review process to convert the building to upper story apartments and first floor retail.

Historic Image

The old Municipal Theater Building is starting a conversion to a new $11.5 million regional theater/arts production space.

Historic image

Rendering

[DMRyan]

The Bekins Furniture building has been converted to 70 loft apartments and is now called the "Hons Apartments".

[DMRyan]

The Virgina Square redevelopment consists of several projects on the south end of the city's primary warehouse district.  There are several loft/mixed-use projects and a new Avid Hotel is currently under construction.

Warehouses recently converted to apartments or condos

101 Virginia Avenue

Rendering

Avid Hotel Rendering

Edited April 26, 2020 by DMRyan

[DMRyan]

Downown is somewhat isolated from the Missouri River riverfront with I-29 bisecting the two, but the city is envisoning a more lively riverfront in the future.  Here are some of the conceptual renderings proposed so far.

[DMRyan]

A new $20 million expo center is being built just south of downtown, and right off of I-29.  This facility is targeted for events that aren't condusive to the existing convention center and arena complex.

Existing Tyson Arena/Long Lines Events Center

Edited April 26, 2020 by DMRyan

[DMRyan]

Cone Park is a new winter sports park that takes advantage of Sioux City's quite hilly topography.

 

And the Pearl Street Park has been installed right across from the Sioux City Children's Museum, which caters towards children's play activities.

[DMRyan]

The Gilchrist Learning Center addition has recently been added to the Sioux City Art Center.

Art Center

[DMRyan]

The historic St. Luke's/Methodist Hospital is no longer being used for medical purposes and has been sold to a developer from Omaha that is proposing to convert the building to affordable housing units.

Historic image

 

That same developer has proposed a small restoration and conversion to residential with retail to the Hatch Furniture Building as well.

[DMRyan]

Sioux City is actually home to a Hard Rock Casino (no Hard Rock Cafe though), which is probably one of the most notable casinos in the State of Iowa.  True to theme of historic preservation that you see in this thread, the Battery Building was converted to the hotel and guest services with an addition put on to host the gambling floor.  They have a very popular outdoor concert series during the summer months that draws people in from across the region.

The Hard Rock recently completed a large new parking ramp that has some street level commercial space.

[rancenc]

Thanks for all of the wonderful pictures of the Sioux City area, DMRyan.  I am actually a member of the Charlotte forum which is constantly active, but I am glad to see "action" in the Midwest forums.  Continue with keeping this forum active!!

[Catfish]

Thanks for making this post! I was instrumental in getting the Iowa subforum added because there wasn't one and I recently moved to Iowa from Louisiana, where I used to be the most active poster in my city's subforum. I've since gotten away from here, but I just thought about it and decided to pop in and see if anything had been posted here.

Sioux City is one area of Iowa that I've yet to make it to but this is impressive. I didn't know they had a Hard Rock Casino there! And the art center is very cool looking.

[DMRyan]

A few updated shots of the historic Warrior Hotel/Davidson Building restoration.  Renovation is expected to be complete later this fall.

 

Phase I of the new riverfront park has began construction

The Bluebird Flats project is set to open this fall as well.

Historical image of building

[rancenc]

Not in Sioux City, but Davenport will have a new residential development coming online in the near future.

https://rebusinessonline.com/twg-breaks-ground-on-39m-workforce-housing-property-in-davenport-iowa/