The historic South Dakota Stockgrowers Association building may be most well-known for its iconic neon sign, but questions of property lines and new developments could mean changes for the nearby parking lot.
The parking lot beside the Stockgrowers building is the next space in Downtown Rapid City targeted for development, but there are pieces to the puzzle yet to be solved.
Doris Lauing is executive director for the SDSGA. She said there are questions that orbit the property lines drawn for their facility in the 1950’s.
“We have come to the conclusion we own three feet east of our building onto where we go to the parking lot," Lauing said. "Of those 82 feet of stairwell, 43 is owned by us – so we’re talking about 39 square feet that should have been transferred to us in 1956, not in 2023.”
Lauing argued the council should charge the SDSGA for that space as it would have been charged in 1956. Alderman John Roberts offered to do one better.
“We’re going to have to do a survey because we need to know exactly how much you guys do own," Roberts said. "It may be three feet, it may be two feet it may be five feet – we don’t know until a survey is done. Also, I would make a recommendation because I think this should have been done in the 50s and not now, I would like to see giving this easement to the Stockgrowers at no cost.”
That proposal didn’t sit well with everyone on the board. Namely Alderman Rod Pettigrew, who called this bad business on behalf of the city.
“I want to know what the dollars and cents are on that easement," Pettigrew said. "We gave away Block 5 – I’m a businessman – I don’t give away anything in my business. It’s city money, so what is the dollars and cents of that easement?”
Despite that and questions of parking implications, the new developments were approved on a 5-3 vote.