An area of booming high-tech
economic development around South Dakota Mines envisioned in 2016 by city,
business, and university leaders is coming to life. Major changes are underway
for the “Innovation District” corridor between South Dakota Mines and Downtown
Rapid City. The district is growing in the number of engineering and high-tech
businesses that are already providing a range of tech industry jobs with a
local economic impact measured in millions.
“You start to do the math and by the
end of this year we will have close to 100 tech jobs in the corridor between
downtown and Mines. Back in 2016 when we started this, there were no tech jobs
in this area,” says Darren Haar, who chairs the board of directors for Elevate
Rapid City. “When you look around at what is happening, it’s a little bit of an
epiphany, this is all coming together in a big way and the future is really
exciting.”
A conservative estimate for average
salary for established high-tech workers is $70,000, which means the district
is already having an $7 million economic impact in wage earnings alone. This
number is expected to climb as the district continues to grow.
South Dakota Mines is a hub of
tech-based economic development in the Black Hills. Mines President Jim Rankin,
(EE 78), PhD, PE, says this is all tied of the ongoing effort to turn research at Mines into jobs right here in the state.
“Our students and faculty are highly innovative, and we have multiple new
patents filed each year. We’re harnessing this ingenuity to build cutting-edge
industry right here in the Black Hills.”
A Blooming High-Tech Corridor: With
Places to Live, Work and Play.
Live
By the start of 2023, 150 brand new
housing units are expected to be open in the Innovation District alone; this
includes The Elements building with loft style apartments
on St. Joseph Street and The Kansas City Street Lofts above Dream Design
International. The Block 5 development in the center of downtown
will bring an additional 130 housing units to the vicinity. These new housing
units can help the city alleviate the overall housing shortage by freeing up
other rental units now occupied in other neighborhoods around town.
“This is all so exciting to see,”
says Sarah Hanzel, the Rapid City planning projects division manager who was
one of the instrumental players in the development of the Innovation District.
“It’s really wonderful to think back to those public meetings in 2016 and
remember those empty parking lots that now have buildings on them. This is all
thanks to the vision of everyone involved. It is thanks to our community and
the collaboration we have maintained.”
Work
Some of the high-tech businesses now
located in and around the Innovation District include AE2S, Affordable Creative
Engineering Services, Dream Design International, Foth Engineering, Innovative
Materials and Processes, Omnitech, Property Meld, Project Solutions, Skyline
Engineering, and more. The David Lust Accelerator Building houses a
multimillion-dollar incubator that just welcomed seven new companies. The model
has a proven track record of high-tech job creation by launching companies
spurred from research at South Dakota Mines or housing satellite offices and
new high-tech companies from outside of the area who capitalize on the pipeline
of talent from Mines. The Garage co-working space provides additional resources
for a range of professionals and organizations.
“The Innovation District demonstrates
a community commitment to fostering technology and innovation in our city,”
says Mitch Nachtigall, innovation and entrepreneurship director at Elevate
Rapid City. “The connection between downtown, the David Lust Accelerator
Building, and Mines creates an ecosystem for growth and prosperity that is so
important to Rapid City’s future.”
All of the firms in the Innovation
District are tied to several other high-tech enterprises in the Black Hills
area such as RESPEC, Phase Technologies, B9Creations, VRC Metal Systems, Novum
Nano, DARCEO, the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) and ongoing
innovation around Ellsworth Airforce Base, the new B-21 Raider, and more.
“Mines’ ongoing work with Ellsworth,
the National Security
Innovation Network and other Department of Defense facilities around the nation
is a huge component to future high-tech growth here in
the Hills. The massive
projects underway at SURF are an additional area of major job growth
for this region,” says President Rankin. “When you combine all of this
together, the opportunities in and around our community are really
impressive.”
Play
Downtown Rapid City’s Main Street
Square, new Monument Summit Arena, and all the amenities, shops, diners,
restaurants, and pubs in Downtown Rapid City provide recreation and leisure
opportunities and events year-round. The lighting improvements completed
between downtown and the Mines campus offer increased safety at night. The
newly opened Rocker Trail above South Dakota Mines along with
local trails on M-Hill and Skyline Drive connected by the city’s extensive bike
path provide ample recreation opportunities. The outdoor activities available
in the surrounding Black Hills and Badlands area provide an edge over other state
and regional cities that will continue to attract and retain the best and
brightest talent.
An Open Door to an Exciting Future
Possibilities for the Innovation
District area include new infrastructure plans and improvements such as
restaurants, expanded office spaces, shops, more housing for all income levels
including students, and possible conversion of some alleyways in the district
into pedestrian corridors with shops, outdoor dining, and beer gardens.
“The Innovation District will be a
mixed-use urban core that we hope will be transformative for Rapid City,” says
Garth Wadsworth, Elevate Rapid City public policy director. “We’re going to
have a combination of tech offices, advanced manufacturing facilities, and
downtown living spaces all within a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly
environment. People will have access to all the amenities and job opportunities
within walking distance.”
The success of this effort so far
deserves accolades, and the future holds even more exciting potential. “Vision
is not a static thing, and what we create is a constant moving target,” says
Hanzel. “We’ve built great partnerships between Mines, the city, and our local
businesses and this ongoing collaboration will yield amazing opportunities in
the community.”
City officials note there are
multiple financing tools that can assist in a range of public infrastructure
improvements. For many, the future of this part of Rapid City is very bright.
“We are making this part of town a
fantastic place to live, work, and play. You won’t recognize this place with
all the development and changes coming in the next five to ten years,” says
Haar.
A Credit to Visionary Leadership
The current movement towards
development of this area had its beginnings in 2014, when a group of community
members opened The Garage co-working space, which brought energy and attention
to the District and a range of professionals and organizations. The “East of 5th”
group that formed around that time also helped spur the idea of an innovation
district between Mines and downtown.
In 2016, community leaders published
the Rapid City Downtown Area Master Plan. The city
council, planning commission, county commissioners, local business leaders, and
South Dakota Mines officials helped create the plan with ample public input.
“I’m not aware of a single entity or
moment in time that the innovation district came to be,” says Hanzel. “The idea
originated from many places at once; it was everywhere. We were developing the
downtown master plan, there was the East of 5th neighborhood group, grass-roots
community champions, and many people involved from Mines.”
The market assessment tied to the
master planning process called for 200 to 400 new housing units downtown. “This
was eye opening to us,” says Hanzel. To meet the goals of the master plan,
rezoning was needed. That effort took city officials about a year and a half.
In the end, the new urban commercial zoning added to the East of 5th
area streamlined the development process and encouraged pedestrian friendly mixed-use
housing and commercial projects, some of which are now under construction. “I’m
proud of our community for taking the leaps of faith with these policy
changes,” says Hanzel.
"Today's Innovation District
grew organically, very much the result of local people interested in building
community. There were underutilized buildings rich with history and
possibility, and visionaries who were willing to take risk and action to bring
those buildings to life and bring businesses and nonprofits to the District,"
says Matt Ehlman, Ph.D., principal of The Numad Group and a developer of five
new spaces in the District, including the recent Property Meld building on St.
Joseph Street. "South Dakota Mines has been an important partner from the
beginning, and it's exciting to see increased focus from Mines, the City, and
the businesses and residents in the neighborhood. There is so much potential to
grow businesses and hire and retain smart graduates from Mines."
A short six years after the 2016
master planning process, the Innovation District envisioned around South Dakota
Mines is beginning to flourish. “It’s starting to really feel different in this
area,” says Hanzel.
“We really need to give credit to so
many people in the public, private, and university sectors who have come
together to make this all happen,” says Haar.
“Rapid City is a unique community in
the Midwest, as we are more like a western mountain biking and recreation hub
of the region. As entrepreneurship and startup companies continue to grow in
the region, creating jobs and diversifying the tax base, quality of life must
continue to be a priority strategy for Rapid City,” explains Tom Johnson,
president and CEO of Elevate Rapid City. “The innovation district allows people
the opportunity to live and work and visit brew pubs in the same neighborhood.”