Vol. 25 No. 12 PO Box 118, Sioux City, Iowa 51102 November 2020 Memorabilia up for bid Siouxland Chamber’s Chris McGowan INSIDE THIS MONTH’S ISSUE: Commerce Children’s Building adds store returns apartments to Sioux City PAGE 4 PAGE 6 2 | SIOUXLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 2020 www.siouxlandbusinessjournal.com We would like to recognize ourL&LBuilders Team during Construction Week 2020! 712-255-0657 llbuilders.com Find us on: Businesswww.siouxlandbusinessjournal.com Journal SIOUXLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 2020 | 3 Chad Pauling, publisher Editorial copy should be sent to: Dave Dreeszen, editor Dave Dreeszen Siouxland Business Journal editor Siouxland Business Journal is published monthly by Box 118 Sioux City Newspapers Inc., in cooperation with the Sioux City, Iowa 51102 Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. [email protected] Requests for a free subscription For more information: or address changes should be sent to: Editorial: (712) 293-4211 Tad Kelson or 800-397-9820, ext. 4211 Siouxland Business Journal Advertising: (712) 293-4317 Box 118 or 800-397-3530 Sioux City, Iowa 51102 Circulation: (712) 293-4258 or 800-397-2213, ext. 4257 On the web: www.SiouxlandBusinessJournal.com Index Cover Story .........................................................page 8 Chamber investors...........................................page 10 ON THE JESSE BROTHERS, SIOUX CITY JOURNAL Business People ...............................................page 14 Home & Office ................................................page 4-5 COVER Chris McGowan, president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, presents memorabilia from the late Brig. The memorabilia of Day, a Sioux City native and Chamber anniversaries ...................................page 10 Ribbon cuttings ...........................................page 10-13 Medal of Honor winner, and other items will be up for bids at the Chamber’s 2020 ‘Celebrate Me Home’ online auction, which starts Nov. 16. NEW/LEASE NEW/SALE NEW/LEASE Commercial Real Estate Services SALES - LEASING - PROPERTY MANAGEMENT - INVESTMENTS salemrealestate.biz | 712-224-4100 4297 Sergeant Road 2529 Leech 3065 Floyd Boulevard 701 Pierce Street Suite #100, Sioux City, IA Great 1,625 sf office/retail space in Regency Fully Rented 5 Plex ready for the next investor. Great 1,820 sf end cap with drive up window in Floyd Hills Centre just south of Super Walmart. Plaza Shopping Center across from So. Hills Mall. Great Cash Flow and easy to keep fully rented. New Ideal fast food floor plan. 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Commercial & New plumbing & electric wiring offering a 3 phase Neighboring spaces are Cut Above, Heritage Residential Specialist 220 panel, lights & an OH door. New in 2016 are Bank & more. On-site maintenance staff & windows, 2 furnaces & air conditioner. security. Utilities included. 712.899.6369 4 | SIOUXLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 2020 www.siouxlandbusinessjournal.com Bluebird apartments near completion MASON DOCKTER Business Journal staff writer SIOUX CITY – The end is in sight for the multimillion-dollar renovation of the old Commerce Building in downtown Sioux City. Omaha-based J Development has spent the past several years developing the brick structure, at 520 Nebraska St., into 71 apart- ments and roughly 12,000 square feet of commercial space. The apartments are called the Bluebird Flats, a name that came from Bluebird Re- cords, a record label that signed Louis Arm- strong. Armstrong played in the building’s fifth-floor ballroom decades ago. Julie Stavneak, a co-owner of J Develop- ment, said Thursday that the building’s in- terior should be done by the end of October, while the exterior work should, hopefully, be finished by the end of this year. Fifteen leases have already been signed and 10 tenants have moved in. The develop- ers have received a certificate of occupancy for floors two, three and four, and are ex- pecting to receive certificates for floors one and five in a few weeks. J Development planted its flag in the old Commerce Building in 2017. The nearly three years of planning and renovations were unusual for a project of its size – 18 to 24 months would be closer to the norm. The PHOTOS BY TIM HYNDS, SIOUX CITY JOURNAL longer time frame, Stavneak said, was the Melissa Williams, a designer working with J Development Company, sits Thursday in a model one-bedroom apartment at Bluebird Flats, an result of efforts to preserve the building’s apartment and commercial property traditionally known as the Commerce Building, 520 Nebraska St., in downtown Sioux City. historical integrity and related regulatory hurdles. brownfield and workforce housing tax cred- “We had to pause – there are some his- its from the state. toric things that took a little bit longer than The 71 apartment spaces include six stu- we anticipated, as far as the renovations, dios, 13 two-bedroom and 52 one-bedroom getting approval to do the things that we apartments. There is some variation be- needed, so it’s been a little bit longer than tween the apartments (some have terrazzo normal,” Stavneak said. The pandemic floors, others have polished brick flooring, added perhaps three or four months to the and still others have modern vinyl), but most project, though the jobsite was never shut have lofty, 12- to 14-foot ceilings and mas- down. sive windows that offer attractive views of The building retained much of its terrazzo the downtown. flooring, its reinforced concrete “mushroom The apartments, which range from pillars” throughout the interior, some of the roughly 660 to 1,320 square feet, will rent original windows and, of course, the more from approximately $850 to $1,370 a month. than 1,600 light sockets on the exterior, J Development has contracted with the which have been in use on and off over the Seldin Company for property management past 108 years. services. “We’re replacing all of those (light bulbs) Each unit has its own washer and dryer, too, which, at night time, is going to be super and the building will boast common space, Remodeling work is shown in what was once top floor ballroom space. cool when those all glow,” Stavneak said. a fitness room and a rooftop firepit and grill- The project’s price tag came to roughly ing station. $15.7 million, which includes roughly larger properties, have grown increasingly “If you think about walking through $2.2 million in federal historic tax credits, PETS ARE ALLOWED: no animal could ever tolerant of pets in recent years – the Bluebird Target or a grocery store, and they have a $3.2 million in state historic tax credits, damage those industrial terrazzo or brick Flats will even have a “dog run” area in the dedicated aisle for pets. I mean, the writ- $600,000 from the city and $1.5 million in floors. Landlords, particularly those with back with grass. ing on the wall is just – many more house- www.siouxlandbusinessjournal.com SIOUXLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 2020 | 5 according to the building’s National Reg- ister of Historic Places registration form. The four-story building housed Ben- nett’s auto supply company and included a massive freight elevator to lift automo- biles for display on the upper stories of the structure. Cars were repaired, repainted and displayed on the various floors, except the fourth floor, which was designed for the Sioux City Commercial Club and included meeting and dining spaces and billiard rooms. In 1919, the Sioux City Chamber of Com- merce moved its offices to the building, and the building was renamed the Commerce Building. A fifth floor was added, circa 1921, and housed Tom Archer’s Roof Garden. It later Melissa Williams, a designer working with J Development Company, is shown in a model apartment at Bluebird Flats. Also shown is the bath became a music hall and dance club called and laundry area in the apartment. the Skylon Ballroom. Lawrence Welk and his band performed there in 1939 before he holds have animals than they used to have,” until the lobby and the front of the building C.F. Lytle Co. as Ralph A. Bennett’s Motor signed with Decca. The building also served Stavneak said. “And so, instead of not al- are complete. The ballroom at the top of the Mart Building, according to the Sioux City as the home of the Sioux City Art Cen- lowing them, we try to figure out ways to building is also set to be used as commercial Historic Preservation Commission. ter from 1953 until 1961, when the center allow them and have enough space for the space. Fittingly enough, the Commerce Build- moved into the Municipal Auditorium. animals.” “We believe that we have some potential ing’s aesthetic has been described as Prior to the renovations, the building was The property’s commercial spaces re- strong candidates, so we’re excited to get it “Commercial,” and the exterior is largely home to a variety of tenants, including the main vacant for the time being. Stavneak leased up,” she said of the commercial space. unchanged from its original form. The Yoga College of Sioux City, several studio said they’ll remain as “white box” (unfin- structure is a poured reinforced concrete artists and the Disabilities Resource Center, ished) space until commercial tenants begin 1912: THE MOTOR MART.