Reversing Downtown Decline In Centerville, South Dakota

This mini eastbound South Dakota municipality is good known for its heavy cultivation roots, its celebrated Fourth of July ceremony and its regionally celebrated bakery specializing successful bi-colored “zebra donuts.”

But now, Centerville has a caller declare to fame: The municipality of astir 900 group located 40 miles southwest of Sioux Falls has go known arsenic a statewide leader successful downtown redevelopment.

The successful effort to subordinate nan inclination of declining Main Street districts successful mini South Dakota towns has been fueled successful portion by a progressive attack to improvement by section leaders and a consciousness of entrepreneurship by section business owners.

But nan redevelopment of Centerville has mostly been driven by implementation of a beardown vacant building ordinance that has go a exemplary for different municipalities crossed nan state.

“Vacancies successful nan cardinal business territory are a detriment to your city,” said Jared Hybertson, economical improvement coordinator successful Centerville. “I perceive from a batch of different communities looking for guidance because this is simply a prevalent problem crossed nan state.”

Not a bully look for downtowns

A decade ago, Centerville had 14 vacant storefronts successful a downtown that encompasses only a fewer quadrate blocks.

Some properties were occasionally utilized arsenic rentals, a fewer served arsenic retention for junk aliases remnants of erstwhile business and others were simply withering toward condemnation. The look was 1 of diminution that was not enticing to imaginable caller visitors, residents aliases business owners.

“I was disappointment astatine nan number of vacant buildings we had,” Hybertson told News Watch. “Perception-wise, arsenic a mini town, you’re either increasing aliases you’re dying, and location isn’t overmuch successful between.”

In 2017, nan Centerville City Council passed nan vacant buildings ordinance that uses a registration system, building inspections, informing letters, threats of fines and eventual fines to punctual spot owners to style up aliases waste their buildings to make measurement for caller opportunities.

With nan powerfulness of nan ordinance successful hand, Hybertson and a squad of committed section officials and business group person ushered a awesome turnaround successful nan downtown.

Over astir nan past decade, nan Centerville Development Corporation has undertaken efforts to either bargain and rehabilitate aliases bargain and tear down astir a twelve dilapidated aliases deserted buildings, galore of which are now occupied by caller businesses.

Centerville has caller additions downtown that see a women’s clothing boutique, a salon, a tattoo parlor, a discount unit store, 2 edifice locations and a historical building converted into a operation museum/art gallery/visitors center. Plans are successful spot for further redevelopment projects that see loft lodging and an arena center.

The caller businesses person made Centerville much of a destination for visitors, strengthened nan wide system and led to increases successful income taxation revenues.

“It’s really been a associated citywide effort,” Hybertson said. “The ordinance decidedly allows america to springiness spot owners a small push to get thing done pinch those properties.”

Building a exemplary for downtown rebirth

Many agrarian communities successful South Dakota person suffered organization and economical downturns complete nan past fewer decades.

Cities pinch galore vacant downtown buildings tin suffer from a consciousness of wide diminution that tin move distant visitors, caller residents and imaginable businesses, said Paula Jensen, a vice president of nan organization improvement group Dakota Resources.

“We spot what nan extremity crippled is if we don’t salary attraction to this,” she said.

Jensen said it is improbable that downtown districts successful mini towns will return to nan days decades agone erstwhile group gathered often to waste cultivation goods, bargain each nan things they request and make individual connections.

But attracting caller commercial, unit and work businesses to a downtown tin spur wide organization growth, Jensen said.

“This isn’t going to return america backmost to nan 1950s erstwhile everybody came to municipality connected Wednesday and Saturdays to waste their eggs and their cream,” she said. “But nan very intent of maintaining Main Streets is getting business owners into those buildings to rejuvenate downtowns and make them lively places again.”

Jensen said downtown revitalization is simply a long-range task that requires a large and changeless committedness and that replacing vacant storefronts pinch caller businesses is conscionable 1 portion of nan effort.

“This isn’t conscionable putting flowers connected Main Street to beautify it,” she said. “It’s making a determination to incrementally amended their Main Street and show that they’re successful it for nan agelong haul, truthful group will want to found a business there.”

Jensen said Dakota Resources useful to stock and beforehand successful ideas that are replicable successful different communities crossed nan state. To that end, nan Dakota Resources welcomed Hybertson to a organization gathering it hosted successful Murdo past autumn wherever he gave a descent position connected nan vacant building ordinance to organization leaders from astir nan state.

Building relationships to revive buildings

While nan ordinance gives Centerville a system to reside vacancies, it still takes a awesome woody of patience and speech to get properties sold aliases redeveloped. Hybertson said.

He and metropolis officials usage nan ordinance arsenic a cudgel tempered by genuine kindness and a willingness to pass pinch and discuss pinch owners of vacant properties. The attack is somewhat of an robust fist successful a velvet glove.

“It’s really astir fostering a narration and building spot because a batch of times these owners conscionable don’t cognize what to do pinch their buildings,” Hybertson said.

The effort to person an aging historical building into nan museum/community halfway provides a bully example. The Sioux Falls proprietor of nan building had tried but grounded to commencement businesses location and was hesitant to springiness up nan property.

After galore discussions pinch Hybertson, she agreed to waste for $6,000. With astir $100,000 successful grants and different $100,000 from nan improvement corporation, nan renovated building that is now a cardinal gathering spot and tourer destination.

“It creates a bully vibe because a vibrant downtown makes everyone consciousness amended astir their community,” Hybertson said.

A bully idea, but reliable to instrumentality

Other towns are pursuing Centerville’s lead, but implementing policies that enforce connected backstage spot owners tin beryllium a reliable spell successful South Dakota.

“It tin get tricky and arguable erstwhile it comes to spot rights,” Hybertson said.

He acknowledged that it takes patience, resilience and sometimes a spot of luck and bully timing to make nan ordinance effective. Even aft improvements are made, maintaining a profitable business is simply a situation successful mini towns, arsenic evidenced by nan caller closure of a Mexican edifice and a java shop successful Centerville.

“Sometimes it feels for illustration 1 measurement guardant and 2 steps back,” he said.

Officials from nan metropolis of Hurley contacted Hybertson and yet enacted a vacant building ordinance successful October 2024, but nan argumentation has not been implemented yet, said metropolis finance serviceman Marcy Hillman.

Hurley is simply a municipality of 385 group located 30 miles southeast of Sioux Falls, and it has struggled to support a vibrant downtown, Hillman said. The metropolis has nary market shop and mislaid a salon that operated downtown but celebrated nan caller reopening of nan Hurley Bar & Grill, she said.

The municipality has a fistful of vacant buildings downtown, but it has been difficult to enforce its ordinance because Hurley has only 4 metropolis labor and relies solely connected Hillman to execute galore of nan municipal tasks.

“There’s a batch of towns successful South Dakota successful nan aforesaid position arsenic us,” Hillman said. “Our assembly wants to get thing going downtown, but it’s challenging erstwhile you don’t person personification who tin attraction conscionable connected that.”

A passion for apparel and organization

Christen Cunningham is simply a benefactor of nan effort to find nan champion usage of existing buildings successful downtown Centerville.

A fewer years ago, Cunningham and her hubby near Colorado to move backmost to nan municipality wherever her parents and grandparents lived, and she bought a building she has converted into a thriving women’s clothing store.

Christen & Company boutique is located successful a building formerly utilized by nan precocious beloved municipality historiographer Sherree Dee Schmiedt to shop artifacts and collectibles from Centerville’s history. Many of those remnants of section history were moved into nan museum/community halfway a fewer doors down nan artifact aft nan renewal was complete.

While nan boutique is not operating successful a storefront straight influenced by nan city’s vacant building policy, Cunningham said her business is an illustration of nan benefits of a community-wide effort to inject power into its downtown.

“It’s creating room for opportunity,” she said. “To this day, group show maine they can’t judge this boutique is operating successful Centerville.”

The tone of re-use whitethorn continue, arsenic Cunningham has plans to renovate nan 2nd level of nan clothing shop into short-term rental units, and she has purchased nan erstwhile bowling alley adjacent doorway and hopes to person it into further abstraction for nan boutique aliases perchance an arena hall. Meanwhile, her girl has moved to Centerville and is operating a beauty salon down nan block.

“I for illustration that you tin really talk to group present and recognize really connected you are to 1 another,” she said.

By focusing connected downtown redevelopment, and uncovering caller uses for existing structures, Centerville has go a spot that is embracing its roots and celebrating its past while besides fostering a agleam future, Cunningham said.

“The biggest blessing is nan relationships we’re making here, because we’re not conscionable trading clothes,” she said. “My ngo is to make women consciousness important and weighted and that they’re seen truthful they consciousness amended erstwhile they time off than they did erstwhile they came in.”

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This communicative was primitively published by South Dakota News Watch and distributed done a business pinch The Associated Press.