April 21, 2020

The downtown headquarters of The First National Bank in Sioux Falls is about to start a big face-lift.

The building, which dates back to 1976, will see exterior work on the north, east and west sides.

“What we’re trying to do is preserve as much of the old building as we could,” said Bob Baker, vice president and director of corporate affairs.

“We’ve had some issues with wear and tear, so we worked hard to preserve as much of the look as we can and also replace as much as we can between the columns. So it’s all new glass, a lot of new metal panels that will go in, and we’re pushing out the offices on the north side of the first floor of the building.”

Some compromised brick has been removed from the building while design was done over the winter.

The building will consolidate its entrances to one door to the east and one to the west. New trim will be added to First Financial Center to the south to “give the buildings a more cohesive look,” Baker said.

There also will be an on-street ATM added off Phillips Avenue, and new exterior lighting will be added.

“We wanted to preserve the old and have something nice and fresh, and the lighting was a really fun piece,” Baker said.

The project is being designed by TSP and constructed by Journey Group.

Construction is scheduled to start in early May and take about a year. Future phases will include interior renovation of the main lobby, atrium and upper floors.

“We have to come up with a design for our main lobby and business banking offices on the first floor, but we’re excited about it,” Baker said. “It gives us a chance to rethink how we do business and how we have people arranged to serve our clients.”

No timing has been set for future phases, he said.

“We’ll start with the first floor, atrium and work our way up to second and third floor.”