April 27, 2018

It’s a good time to sell a downtown office building.

At least, for the former owners of the building that housed Adwerks, an advertising, marketing, communications and media strategy firm.

The building at 512 N. Main Ave. sold today for $1.2 million, which is about $400 per square foot, believed to be the highest price per square foot paid for a downtown office building in Sioux Falls history.

“This sale sets a new high water mark for office space.” said Ryan Tysdal of Van Buskirk Cos., the broker representing the sellers.

“Selling this building was kind of like selling a unicorn. It is such a unique property in many ways. Finding a small freestanding building like this is just unheard of.”

The building was sold by Quadriga Group LLP and was purchased by Kelly Properties LLC, represented by Rory Kelly, whose business ventures include CellularOnly.

“We feel like this is the right time to sell the building,” said Jim Mathis, Quadriga partner and Adwerks owner.

“The real estate market is hot, the Uptown neighborhood is finally taking off, and the offer came at a time when Paul Boerboom, my partner in Quadriga Group, is getting ready to retire. And frankly at $1.2 million, it was too good an offer to pass up. Everything aligned to make this the right time to sell.”

The first offer came less than 90 minutes after the sellers signed their listing agreement, Tysdal said.

“We were under contract with Rory within 24 hours of the building going on the market. We actually had backup offers for even more than Rory paid,” he said. “I believe we would have had even more offers if the property wouldn’t have gone under contract so quickly.”

Adwerks will move its office to 136 S. Dakota Ave.

“The new space has a similar industrial loft feel and will be a great fit for our business. We really wanted to stay in downtown, we love downtown Sioux Falls, and the new office moves us closer to the heart of the city,” Mathis said.

The building was built in 1919 as the Standard Oil Garage and is a contributing building in the Old Courthouse and Warehouse Historic District of downtown Sioux Falls, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The structure, which cost $10,500 to erect, served in its original capacity as a garage and office until Standard Oil moved to a new facility in late 1944. A renovation in 2006 rescued the building from the wrecking ball, and it became the design studio for Group II Architects, now TSP. Adwerks moved to the space in August 2008.