by Garrick Moritz, Editor
This Saturday, Dec. 19, Norm DeWitt will be hosting an open house to showcase the new apartments on Main Ave. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
DeWitt is no stranger to such restoration projects, having worked on several in Sioux Falls and the surrounding area.
“We wanted to make a modern apartment, while we maintain the unique aspects and character of the historic building,” DeWitt said. “It can be a difficult balance to achieve, but I think we’ve really struck that balance. I’ m really pleased on how things have turned out, and I am excited for people to come and have a look.”
The building, which was once the Garretson Senior Center and the Jesse James Opera house, will now be an apartment complex. Seven of the 9 planned apartments will be ready for showcasing this weekend.
“Although all of these will be excellent, I’m particularly happy with the two large loft apartments on top, both of which will have a mezzanine,” he said. “This one here has two bedrooms and a space for a home office, which you could use as a third bedroom of you wanted to as well. Lots of open spaces, granite counter tops, vinyl flooring for easy cleaning and repairs. Each unit has its own furnace and bathroom. There is storage space in each apartment as well as setup for storage lockers on the ground floor for each apartment tenant.
Each of these is using structural points, and steel from the original building, and will arguably have some of the best views in the city.
“Each of these units is unique with a lot of character,” he said. Stopping at a top floor single bedroom he said. “If I were a young person, just starting out, I’d love a place like this.”
These apartments will be conveniently located in downtown Garretson, with a grocery store, restaurant and library branch across the street, a bank, a post office and two bar & grills within easy walking distance. People who snap these properties up will have a lot of access to amenities.
“You won’t need to drive anywhere except for your job, and that could depend on what your job is,” he said. “People who live here will have access to everything Garretson has to offer right outside their door.”
Next door, DeWitt said he still plans to use the building next door to the east as parking garage space, though deconstruction and repairs are taking longer than initially anticipated. At this time, he’s hopeful that the building can be made structurally sound to make a parking garage viable, but if not then he said they will tear down and start from scratch.
