December 6, 2021
Behind the scenes and before the lottery that determined who was the first to open a medical cannabis dispensary in Sioux Falls, there was extensive research on site.
Commercial real estate brokers spent countless hours answering inquiries about properties, realizing that most deals would never materialize because the city had located dispensaries for five qualified applicants.
said Raquel Blount of Lloyd Cos. , who sent dozens, if not hundreds, of those inquiries.
“Anyone who wants to be in the field has a lot of people trying to track down sites, so this was really unprecedented.”
Locations cannot be within 1,000 feet of other schools or clinics. If there is other sensitive use between 500 and 1,000 feet such as residential development, schools, child care centers, public use facilities, or parks, the city can request a Conditional Use Permit.
In some cases, other circumstances prevented the sites from being submitted.
The broker, with Van Buskirk Cos, said that among Ryan Tysdal’s listings, listings that were eligible under city and state guidelines were disqualified by “covenants that restrict them within development.” Many times national retailers. Any building that had Edward Jones or tenants like that, for example, restricted any kind of cannabis, so it was very difficult to find something.”
Another obstacle for some, Tisdale said, is the loans on their buildings.
“If the loan is from the Federal Insurance Corporation, there’s generally language that you can’t lease for illegal uses, and in the eyes of the federal government, that’s not legal, so there could be funding implications,” he said. “I don’t know a lot of people who want to make their mortgage payments early just to do a weeding deal.”
In the end, 79 potential sites were submitted to the city, and five sites were chosen by lot to begin the process.
Two are expected to appear on the city planning commission’s January agenda, seeking a conditional use permit.
One of them is a retail center at 3613 W. Avira Drive, which includes a Starbucks, Capriotti sandwich shop, and Sweet Cheeks ice cream shop.
The other is located at 3215 S. Carolyn Ave. It is located in a retail center known as 41st Street and I-29 plaza. It is a former office space.
The planning commission can be the only step in obtaining a conditional use permit, although the decision can be appealed to the city council either by the applicant or neighbors.
A third location is at 2211 W. 49th St. It is a retail center known as Golden West Plaza that is being renovated.
“It was one of the existing retail centers that qualified, so (the owner) decided he might have to introduce himself,” said Tisdale, who previously struck the deal on the building. “He saw an opportunity and had the real estate to do it.”
The property would also have required a conditional use permit, except for the city council’s vote to exclude churches as a sensitive use and the change to the law takes effect this month.
“This would exclude churches in commercial areas, so if you have a church that’s moved into a warehouse area or a mall, it’s hard to shut down an entire commercial area,” Questra said.
The last two locations initially selected in the lottery do not need city approval other than a certificate of occupancy, which is given after permit and inspection.
This includes the only site in North Sioux Falls, a building located at 1421 B Ave. Which currently includes IS Restaurant Design Equipment & Supply.
The other location is now barren land at 309 W Anchor Lane, east of Minnesota Street and south of 85th Street.
“A lot of people went the route of acquiring land under contract so they could build a building,” Blount said.
If none of the five locations has moved forward for one reason or another, the next two on the list are a retail center in Lake Lorraine and an office building at 2904 W. Russell St.
In addition to required city approvals, all dispensary locations also need to apply for state certification.
