Apartments, Ace Hardware coming to Faulkton
November 20, 2013
By AberdeenNews.com | Elisa Sand
Faulkton will be home to an Ace Hardware and a new apartment building in 2014. Both items were announced at a recent Faulkton Development Corp. community meeting.
Joel Price, chairman of the FDC, said the local economic development group is spearheading the development of the housing in partnership with the city. The facility will be an eight-unit building with three-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
Stacy Hadrick, FDC economic development coordinator, said the housing project is a result of a community assessment conducted with funding from a Bush Foundation grant.
"The biggest issue was housing," she said. "We have no housing. That's holding us back. You can't have a growing community without housing."
Hadrick said Faulkton needs a variety of housing that includes homes for young families, rental units and retirement housing.
"It's kind of a linchpin," Price said. "It always comes back to housing."
Price, who is also the superintendent for the Faulkton School District, said housing is the first question he fields from new teachers.
"We're hoping through the construction of this eight-plex, that it may open up homes for rent," Price said.
Faulkton is similar to a lot of smaller South Dakota communities where new construction stalled in the 1980s said Price, explaining much of the housing in the area is 40 to 50 years old. Some of those are in disrepair, he said.
"We want housing that's functional and maintained," he said.
The new apartments will cost about $1 million to build and will be located on the site of the old hospital, according to Price. The land is owned by the FDC. Price said construction can start as soon as bonds are approved. He said he hopes construction can begin this year so work can take place through the winter, making units available in the spring. Price said Faulkton is working with the Housing and Redevelopment Commission on this project. The city will be the bond holder. Those bonds will be paid through rent collected on the apartments.
Ace Hardware
Local businessman Chad Homan said the Ace Hardware in Faulkton should be open by January or February. Homan is owner and operator of Homan Welding, 1 mile east of Faulkton. The hardware store will be located in the new retail center built by Dave Hedt, an Australian developer. According to Price, the retail center already has provided new locations for two existing businesses — Farmer's Union Insurance Agency and the Short Stop Bar. The center, which features space for six businesses, is also home to Country Roots, which offers a hair salon, tanning, manicures, pedicures and accessories.
Homan said the need for a hardware store in Faulkton has been on his radar for a few years. In fact, he's tried to meet customer demand by offering a selection of hardware items at his welding shop, which he opened seven years ago. The company offers repair work for ag and construction businesses, as well as custom fabrication.
"We've just slowly grown what we needed for the welding shop and incorporated product lines to take care of customers," Homan said. "It's just the right decision to offer a full hardware selection."
Homan, who has been a resident of Faulkton for the past 15 years, said the retail center will provide an ideal location for the hardware store.
"We have such great and loyal customers now for our welding company. We hope to offer a great service for our community and gain loyalty from customers," said Homan, explaining he considers himself fortunate to live in Faulkton.
"Faulkton's not dying," he said. "They're fighting that trend. It's a great place to live."