Sioux Falls Construction Company: Over a Century of Customer Satisfaction

Sioux Falls Construction Company (SFCC) was started in 1910, making the company a historic go-to. SFCC has photos and records dating back to some of the first high-profile buildings in the town’s history, including some of the first hospitals and churches.

From that point on SFCC has diversified into several branches that deal with roadways, highways, bridges and building construction. From its headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D., SFCC manages Black Top Paving Company (BTPC), which is the company’s exclusive asphalt paving subdivision and handles a large portion of the surrounding area’s asphalt paving. Waltz Construction is a subsidiary of SFCC and manages some of its more in-depth building contracts in Brookings, S.D.

As it has such diversification, the company doesn’t try to limit itself to one area of the construction industry. Jay Rasmussen, vice president of business development at SFCC, states that its most successful work has been in a variety of different subsets, including office, retail, sports facilities, religious and higher education spaces, as well as the healthcare industry. “The majority of our most recent work has been for hospitals and medical care facilities,” reflects Rasmussen.

Breaking Ground on New Projects

Recently SFCC completed work at one of the biggest hospital organizations in the state when the Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center commissioned a brand new cancer research center. Avera McKennan has been nationally recognized as one of the top 100 hospitals in the U.S. for its heart hospital alone, and the health center wanted to expand its reach. The project was a huge undertaking for SFCC, but it was executed with the team’s high level of professionalism. “Construction alone was about $64 million,” Rasmussen says. “The facility itself was $100 million total.”

A significant portion of the new cancer building is devoted to research for a cure, while the remainder is a same-day surgery center and medical offices. The center measures just over 260,000 square feet and offers the latest technology in all eight of its state-of-the-art operating rooms. The project required SFCC to utilize every skill set of its staff’s repertoire as well as its supplies. The Avera McKennan cancer center contains 1,650 tons of structural steel in addition to 970 tons of reinforcement, 13,000 cubic yards of concrete, approximately 45,000 square feet of precast wall panels and 54,000 square feet of curtain wall window systems.

SFCC’s presence in the healthcare industry remains in high demand and SFCC’s diverse-minded team is capable of working in other areas of institutional work. “We’re currently at South Dakota State University (SDSU) on a $40 million project,” Rasmussen says. A contract for new student housing was laid down by SDSU and the Board of Regions of South Dakota in partnership with SFCC. The company has since broken ground on four different buildings slated to be used as residential living communities.

The dorms average approximately 200,000 square feet, totaling 800 rooms. SFCC has been facilitating preconstruction activities on the facilities since spring 2012, and will complete the project in time to accommodate the influx of students in fall 2013. As detail oriented as the company has to be on new projects, it applies the same level of care to its renovation-focused contracts as well.

One of the architectural gems of Sioux Falls is the Cathedral of St. Joseph, boasting twin spired bell towers and an exquisite rose window. The cathedral was commissioned by Bishop Thomas O’Gorman and designed by Emmanuel Masqueray, an architect famous for his work on the Cathedral of St. Paul, Minn. The original bricks were laid in 1908 but the construction was beset with complications, including the relocation of St. Michael’s church from the jobsite to the supply shortages of World War I.

Masqueray died before the project was finished, so his assistant, Edwin Lundie, took over and saw the job through to its completion in 1919. SFCC respects the work of the past and the company partnered with Diocese of eastern South Dakota to restore and renovate St. Joseph’s back to its former glory. It was a $16 million contract, and SFCC did extensive research of Masqueray and Lundie’s work in order to surpass the Diocese’s expectations. The company achieved the cathedral’s original structural aesthetic as well as all the hand-painted sculptures that had been caste into the walls. Today St. Joseph’s represents a labor of love for all involved, and that includes SFCC.

Modernize and Economize

“We added a few modern luxuries,” Rasmussen says. While air conditioning, heating, lighting and sound equipment may have been unavailable to the original architects, SFCC saw to it that all these amenities were implemented to ensure comfort for visitors and worshipers alike. “It was really a joint effort,” Rasmussen remarks. “We kept all the donors and public involved throughout the entire process, and made sure everybody had access to the facility.” The idea of partnership is nothing new to the company, which regularly pulls from its connections to get quality staff to assist its clientele.

All of these accomplishments wouldn’t be possible for SFCC without one thing: subcontractors. While SFCC does approximately staff 100 employees, the company subcontracts over 90 percent of its jobs. “They’re key to any project,” asserts Rasmussen. “We’ve had these relationships for a long time and they’re the reason our business is predominantly repeat customers.” The company is constantly on the lookout to make connections amidst incoming subcontractors, and hopes to add even more to its impressive, existing network.

With its long history of enriching its community, SFCC is an organization that puts the citizenry ahead of its corporate agenda. The company hosted various local festivities on its 100-year anniversary, which was treated as a gala for the town as well. Rasmussen says, “It was a celebration of Sioux Falls Construction, but it was also a celebration of Sioux Falls.” The company has built bridges between clients and paved roads for new developments that have brought prosperity to both Sioux Falls Construction Company and Sioux Falls.