Vern Eide Motorcars plans to move several of its businesses to the former Citibank campus, while still using only a fraction of the property’s total opportunity.
An entity associated with Vern Eide acquired the property in northeast Sioux Falls last month. The 69-acre site at 701 E. 60th St. N. had been on the market for more than seven years.
“We’re really excited about it,” said Jim Lake, CEO of Vern Eide, who shared the vision for the property with his team late last week.
It begins with the existing buildings — Building 1 and 2, which are largely vacant and in some areas looked as though employees vacated and left all the furnishings behind.
Lake plans to convert those two buildings, which total about 240,000 square feet, into a new location that combines three of the company’s other sites:
- Vern Eide Motoplex at 4915 N Northview Ave., which offers new and used powersports vehicles.
- Vern Eide Powerhouse at 4800 N. Westport Ave., which sells new and preowned vehicles from brands such as Honda Powersports, BMW Motorrad, Indian Motorcycle and Polaris Slingshot.
- Vern Eide Marine at 4501 E Arrowhead Parkway.
“We’re out of space,” Lake said. “We’re victims of our own success … but we’re very excited about our growing pains.”
The plan also calls for about a 15,000-square-foot addition to create a grand entry where the two buildings come together that will include a glassed-in area that will deliver a two-story view of some of the inventory.
“We’re kind of going to grow it into becoming a destination on the way to Sturgis for motorcycle riders,” Lake said…