By Barbara Soderlin

Wal-Mart has filed an initial development plan for a planned commercial development including a 154,750 square foot Wal-Mart store at the corner of Fifth and Catron in south Rapid City, the city planning department confirmed.

I’ll have more later today when I see the documents, and I’ll let you know how you can comment to the city on the plans.

UPDATE:

The full story will be in the morning paper, but here’s a little more than I’ve learned today.

This project seems more likely to be approved than previous efforts.
“In this case, much of the infrastructure is already in place and ready to go,” said Marcia Elkins, city growth management director. “That should help expedite the review and more importantly the construction phase of any project on this site.”
She said the site is already zoned properly for commercial development, and many traffic impact issues have already been addressed in the planning that went into extending Fifth Street south and an upcoming project to widen Catron Boulevard.
“City staff anticipates that most of those impacts have already been addressed with the original planning completed for this site,” she said.
The 49-acre site, owned by Stoneridge LLC and represented by Pat Hall of Premier Properties, sits west of Fifth Street and north of Stumer Road, which is just north of Catron Boulevard. There is residential development to the west and office buildings and health care facilities north along Fifth.
The plans were filed Friday by THF Stoneridge Development, LLC of St. Louis, along with the Stoneridge, LLC group of landowners and local developer Dream Design International.
The site plan shows the 154-750-square-foot Wal-Mart on the west side of the parcel, close to single-family homes on Savoy Circle. It is surrounded by 14 outlots, a 30,900-square-foot “mini anchor” and a 16,000-square-foot row of strip mall shops.
People will have their first opportunity to comment on the project at 7 a.m. March 4, when the city Planning Commission considers the layout plat application and the planned commercial development initial plan.
The layout plat would then be considered by the city council at 7 p.m. March 15.
Later in the process, the applicants will have to submit more detailed plans in a preliminary plat application and a final development plan application.
For more information, contact the city growth management department at 394-4120. The plans are on file in their office at the City-School Administration Building at 300 Sixth St.

By Barbara Soderlin

Ben down at Tally’s says they’re open for business today, after being closed for a month for a major remodel. J. Scull Construction headed up the project and there have been guys working there nonstop it seems. I’m about to head down and check it out. From peeking in the window last week I can say it looks totally different and very nice. Let me know what you think if you get over there this week.

UPDATE:

Here’s a picture by Kristina Barker of the corner booth:

By Barbara Soderlin

Ben Snow knows Rapid City has a lot to offer a business looking to expand or relocate. But he’s found it’s not easy to pitch our low taxes, available real estate and quality of life when someone can’t get past the image of South Dakota as cold and flat. Or worse, if they don’t even know where Rapid City is.

Sure, we have the connection to Mount Rushmore, but while millions of people visit the monument every year, hundreds of millions do not, especially people on the coasts and in Arizona and Texas where new economic development target markets are opening thanks to new airline routes there, Snow said.

“If you were to give somebody a blank map of the United States, I don’t think they could put the pushpin on Mount Rushmore. I think they’d be 100 to 200 miles off.”

Lack of information about our location and weather are the two biggest impediments to getting businesses interested in locating here, said Snow, director of the Rapid City Economic Development Partnership.

That’s why he’s going to be embarking on a new promotional campaign that will help people locate Rapid City and the Black Hills, and then get people here ready to assist a potential new company if they are interested. I’ll have more on his ideas in a story this weekend.

By Barbara Soderlin

Cheryl Chaput doesn’t know how the rumor got started but the Deadwood Thymes Cafe & Bistro is not closed.

The restaurant is for sale, though. Cheryl’s husband, Mike, took a job as a chef with a country club in Kansas and she is looking to join him there. Their daughter, Samantha Christ, is also a partner in the business and has been a chef and baker there.

I went there for lunch a few months ago with Dan Daly and the food was great. If you think Deadwood just has casino buffets and sports bars, this is a fun alternative. They have great sandwiches and desserts.

By Barbara Soderlin

When you’re always late to the airport like I am (made my last flight to Mesa only because the Allegiant woman took pity on me) having good signage helps.

The sign directing travelers to the Rapid City Regional Airport was taken down in 2008 when they were rebuilding Hwy. 44.

Now, the airport is working with the state Department of Transportation to replace it. Plans for a sign 32 feet by 8 feet are in the works. Looks pretty cool. It has a big airplane flying out of it and red runway lights across the top. I tried to post a pic but am having technical difficulties. There’s one at the link below.

The planning commission will hear the application Feb. 18.

By Barbara Soderlin

I still run into new businesses that we didn’t mention when there was no dedicated business reporter this summer.
Chuck and Angel Cressy opened Independent Goldsmiths May 15 at 621 Main St. after working out of their home for seven years. At home, they focused on repair work for other local jewelry shops. 
At their retail shop downtown, they sell unique jewelry from local designers and they have an in-house designer available to craft custom pieces for customers. And they do still offer repairs.
The Cressys bought the one-story 1927 building and remodeled the interior. Over the years the building has been a drug store, Rapid City Reporter newspaper office, western store and most recently was Budget Tile and Carpet, Chuck Cressy said.
“We pretty much remodeled the entire building, put in a new wood floor, trimmed everything out with oak,” he said. They also restored the façade, revealing the brick.
“We’re just trying to bring it back to as nice as it was when it was built,” Cressy said.
Last year was not an easy year to open a new business, but Cressy said he thinks things are picking up.

By Barbara Soderlin

The Public Utilities Commission hearing on the Black Hills Power rate increase request was supposed to begin Feb. 23, but will likely be rescheduled for some time in May, some people involved in the case are saying. Some of the intervenors need more time to prepare their cases. It’s a very complex case and the attorneys and staff for all sides are in the discovery phase right now. There should be some more testimony filed soon which should be interesting. I’ll keep you posted.

By Barbara Soderlin

Interior designer Kara White has moved her studio from an office space on Jackson Boulevard into her home on West Boulevard.

Because most of her work is done in clients’ homes and offices, she said, it wasn’t as necessary to maintain a separate studio.
It’s part of her plans to update her company’s look this year, including changes to her graphic design, Web site and the services she offers. For example, she’ll be offering a complete room-by-room design package people can purchase online or over the phone from a distance, in addition to the personal, in-town services she offers.
Reach White at 390-2010.

By Barbara Soderlin

He’s always reluctant to name them, but Les Kinstad, developer of the Presidents Plaza project planned for Sixth and St. Joe, tells me more people are signing letters of intent to lease space at the property.

Kinstad told me today that more than half of the space is now leased out, about 52 percent.  He will have to show upward of 80 percent leased before the bank will close on the loan, he has said, but he said Wells Fargo locally has approved a $15 million loan application and the application is now being reviewed by the bank headquarters in San Francisco.

Kinstad says the project is still on track to break ground this spring. We shall see.

By Barbara Soderlin

A reader was asking about a new salon she saw. Here’s what I found out:

Jen Mese and Teri Sheets opened their own salon, Tangled Tresses, on Jan. 11 in the strip mall across from Culvers at 2120 West Main, Suite 9.

The women previously worked together at the Best Little Hair House downtown and decided it was time to start their own business, Sheets said, instead of continuing to rent booths.

Sheets said interior decorating is a passion of hers and she had fun getting the space ready for clients.

“You won’t see hair pictures on our walls,” she said.

“We just wanted to have a nice atmosphere where when people walk in they feel welcome,” Sheets added. “I don’t know what it is, I feel at home in here.”

The salon offers cuts, coloring, perms, waxes, manicures and pedicures.

A grand opening is planned for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, with giveaways including a television.

Tangled Tresses is open Monday through Saturday for appointments and walk-ins. Call 721-1177.