RAPID CITY - The building near the corner of Fifth and Omaha streets is starting to look a lot more like Tuscany Square than Dan's Supermarket.

Crews have been laying stone, erecting towers and giving the concrete block exterior a brown stucco-like treatment.

Scott Mueller of Mandalay Homes and Don Weiseler of Century Development Co. are partners in the project. They bought the building earlier this year and began laying plans to break the 64,000-square-foot building into smaller retail spaces. In addition, a smaller strip center is being built along the south edge of the former Dan's parking lot.

The rental space inside the Dan's building is being marketed as a home- improvement complex.

Few people are as anxious to see Tuscany Square open as Curt Beatty. He and wife, Darci, own B.E.S. Lighting.

After 23 years at 3409 W. Main St., B.E.S. is moving east to Tuscany Square. B.E.S. will share the building with a carpet store and other home-improvement businesses. That one-stop-shopping idea appealed to Beatty. Most of his business is new construction, and people shopping for carpet will likely be looking for light fixtures as well.

Another reason is space. B.E.S. has about 7,000 square feet at the West Main store started by Beatty's father in 1984. The new store will have more than 15,000 square feet.

"We're bulging at the seams here. We need more room, in the showroom and the warehouse," he said.

In addition, Omaha Street through downtown is one of the highest traffic areas in Rapid City. Beatty liked the visibility and the central location.

Tentative plans call for moving into Tuscany Square Aug. 1. And Beatty and his staff have their work cut out for them. The B.E.S. showroom on West Main is a glittering array of light fixtures hanging from nearly every inch of ceiling.

Beatty plans to hang about 1,000 light fixtures at the new store, as well as wall displays and other equipment.

The building itself is fairly new.

In 1992, North Dakota-based Dan's Supermarket bought a parcel of land in the mostly rundown area of warehouses and rail yards off Omaha Street. The company cleared the site and built its supermarket, which opened its doors in 1993.

But Dan's had trouble catching on among Rapid City grocery shoppers, especially after big discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Sam's Club began getting into the food business.

In April 2005, the company closed its Rapid City Dan's Supermarket.

Contact Daly at 394-8421 or at dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com