May 10, 2018

There’s no coffee shop in The Phillips Lofts on North Phillips Avenue across from Falls Park, but it often smells like Starbucks in the lobby anyway.

That’s thanks to a new touch-screen machine installed this week, allowing residents to tap a fresh-ground Starbucks coffee, latte or hot chocolate anytime they’d like.

“It’s like having a Starbucks in the building, right down to the cups, sleeves and lids,” said concierge Laura Walters. “It’s pretty fancy.”

That’s just one more reason demand at The Phillips Lofts isn’t expected to slow anytime soon. The apartments, which are managed by Lloyd Cos., are almost always full. There are two one-bedroom units available now, so it’s among nine stops on Saturday’s Downtown Loft Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. along with two other Lloyd buildings.

The Larson Square Lofts, where one unit will be available in July, will be a stop, along with the Uptown Exchange Lofts, where two units are open.

“We’ve been consistently full in our downtown residential community,” Lloyd regional manager Drew O’Brien said. “It’s usually full with a wait list, and occasionally we’ll have one open up. It’s a mix of people living here for all different reasons.”

Some downtown residents will be living in new “smart lofts.” Lloyd just installed technology in a few units at Uptown Exchange that allows residents to control lights, locks and the thermostat in their lofts through a smartphone app or by commanding Amazon’s Alexa.

“From our perspective, it’s nice because we can set alarms on our end, so if you’re on vacation and the temperature starts dropping in your home, it will alert us, so we can go get it fixed before there are any issues,” O’Brien said. “We’re doing a select number in Uptown, but the entire Cascade will have this technology.”

Lloyd also will have a booth Saturday for its newest downtown project, The Cascade.

A rendering by VanDeWalle Architects of the proposed project at Uptown

Coming next year, it will include more than 200 apartment homes, and amenities will include an outdoor pool, outdoor kitchen and gathering space for entertaining, a bocce ball court, a dog run, bike storage and bike repair area, indoor pet wash station and open community space with a fitness center and full-time concierge.

Loft tour participants can learn more about it and see construction by stopping on the north side of the Phillips Lofts in the parking lot overlooking The Cascade.

“Every day I get new people added to the list. They all want top floor, falls views,” Walters said.

Demand is so strong, Lloyd is planning to hold a lottery party to kick off rentals later this summer.

“If people are interested in living downtown, don’t wait,” O’Brien said. “Get on a wait list. Not only can you lease when product first becomes available, but you’ll get updated on the progress along the way.”

Tickets for the Downtown Loft Tour organized by Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. are available for $5 in the Shriver Square lobby at 230 S. Phillips Ave. Registration and ticket sales start at 9:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. Kids 12 and younger are free.