Former Citibank campus proposed as option for prison relocation

The long-vacant former Citibank campus is being floated as a potential site for the new South Dakota men’s prison.

The Department of Corrections recently issued a request for information, or RFI, for sites that could accommodate the proposed project. It’s currently planned for 160 acres in Lincoln County between Harrisburg and Canton.

The price tag of more than $800 million prompted lawmakers to take another look at options and put together a study group called Project Prison Reset. It hired a consultant to review and update a prison facilities report that had been used to bring the current proposal forward.

That’s when the Citibank campus was brought up as an alternative, said Gregg Brown of NAI Sioux Falls, who has the property co-listed with Troy Fawcett.

“We’re right down the street from the existing prison, and the Jameson Annex will still remain open … so it would be right down the street,” Brown said.

“You have all the infrastructure, all the employment and staffing, everything is already here in Sioux Falls. You don’t have to spend a fortune to create all that in a remote area or especially hiring employees and all the services that go with running a prison. It just makes sense to have it right there.”

The former Citibank campus at 701 E. 60th St. N. was listed for sale last year at $33.8 million.

The property is owned by Zurich Insurance Group, which took the campus back from its prior owner after Citibank moved its staff in 2019 to a new building in southwest Sioux Falls.

The original buildings on the north Sioux Falls campus were built in the early 1980s, with expansion continuing through the mid-1990s. Avera Health has a lease on one of the buildings but has it listed for sublease.

The idea is not to house inmates in the existing buildings but use the remaining land to build up to six inmate housing pods like those proposed at the Lincoln County site, Brown said.

“We think we could get up to 1,000 or 1,500 beds on that site, so it’s a viable option.”

The call center buildings and a former child care center could be repurposed for administrative and education uses that support the prison and its inmates, he said.

“We assume that the state would gut the buildings to shell condition and build out new space that meets their programming requirements,” Brown said. “So roughly 250,000 to 300,000 square feet of existing buildings could be used by the state instead of starting with brand-new, ground-up construction. That provides savings that can be utilized elsewhere for the state and prison system.”

Some of the neighboring businesses use inmate labor, he said. “And it’s not in a residential area.”

The RFI says a preferred site would be at least 100 acres but that smaller sites might be considered as part of a package or require a contingency of purchasing other properties to meet requirements. The Citibank campus is almost 70 acres.

The preference is for a site within 20 miles of Sioux Falls, but “other locations or communities may also be considered if an adequate site is available and workforce needs can be met,” the RFI said.

The preferred submission deadline for sites is April 24.

There is other interest involving various parcels and buildings within the campus, but the owner is holding off in case the state is interested, Brown said.

“As listing agents, we’re doing our job and submitting it because this is a logical buyer,” he said.

“That would be an amazing sale to have that come together.”

For a full recap of the process that led up to the reconsideration of a site for the prison, view this piece from South Dakota Searchlight.

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