With commercial, residential development surge, Tea prepares for more growth ahead

May 5, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

A lakefront housing development, a growing commercial center and a new mayor are just some of the changes unfolding in Tea this spring.

Mayor Casey Voelker began his new role this week. He grew up in the community and is energized to be helping lead it into the future.

“My parents live just outside of town, I went to school in Tea, and I’ve seen it grow from the small, small town it was into what it is now. And that’s what excites me about trying to help Tea grow into this next phase. We’re at a point now where we’re pretty much starting a new chapter as a town.”

All it takes is a quick drive around the community just south of Sioux Falls to see that.

Its northern gateway, the Bakker Landing development, is filling up with businesses.

In recent weeks, a large Casey’s General Store has opened, bringing a gas station, convenience store and trucker’s lounge to the development along 271st Street on the west side of Interstate 29.

CarSwap has opened its new headquarters, consolidating two Sioux Falls locations and moving to Tea.

“It’s exceeded our expectations,” owner Kevin Tupy said. “It’s spectacular traffic and phenomenal visibility from the interstate and exceptional synergy with I-29 RV Supercenter and Glass Doctor right nearby.”

He’s also building a new headquarters building in the development for Cresten Property Management’s maintenance, bringing an 11,000-square-foot office and warehouse for the growing multifamily property management firm.

“We’re just excited to be in Tea and be so welcomed by their community,” Tupy said. “We’ve had fantastic participation from the city, and we’re excited to grow with them as they grow.”

Other businesses are betting their growth prospects on the community too.

Revive Boutique will hold its grand opening this weekend in a storefront at 615. E. Brian St. after starting online in 2020 and growing into a mobile boutique.

“I knew I wanted to have more interaction with my customers, which led me to purchase and remodel my mobile boutique truck,” owner Lindsay Kinzer said. “I took it to multiple parades, events and festivals, including Downtown Sioux Falls First Fridays. When the opportunity to open an actual storefront in Tea presented itself, I just knew I had to take advantage of it.”

Grand opening weekend will include online and in-store specials with a pizza party Friday and a make-and-take succulent bar Saturday.

Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and by private appointment for individuals and groups Sunday through Wednesday.

“Revive caters to busy women who want to be comfortable while at work or running errands but also remain stylish and look good too,” Kinzer said. “My goal when you walk into the store is for a feeling of uplifting positivity. I want you to come to the store or online and find something that can make you smile and remind you how beautiful you are.”

Tea also has a new place for athletes. The Playground, an indoor softball facility, opened this month at 22 E. Highpointe St. and is a lifelong dream for owner Emmie Uitts.

The new 8,000-square-foot training center will meet a need in the athletic community, said Uitts, who moved to Sioux Falls from Nebraska in 2017 to play softball at the University of Sioux Falls.

“I wanted to create a place for softball players by softball players,” she said. “I trained in several indoor facilities while playing softball and never felt like softball was a priority to these facilities.”

The business offers softball lessons, camps, clinics and team practice space in a building custom-designed for softball.

The Playground offers memberships as well, where athletes can access a booking site to reserve slots and receive discounts on lessons, camps, clinics and merchandise. Member events will include guest speakers, watch parties and movie nights.

“My favorite thing about The Playground is that we are really in the leadership- and confidence-building industry,” Uitts said. “We simply use softball to teach it because we think it is the most fun way and can lead to opportunities for the kids.”

The community response in Tea “has been unreal,” she added. “We have some kids who have been with us from the start, and we continue to get new kids every day. There has been so much support, and we truly wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without that.”

The traction Tea is experiencing reflects doing a lot of things right, said Jesse Fonkert, president and CEO of Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

“This is a community that has carefully planned and invested, supports its own, displays positive leadership and truly is at a tipping point,” he said.

“It’s going to be incredibly exciting to see the development that will continue to occur in Tea this year and beyond.”

What’s next

Tea’s leadership is experiencing another historically busy year.

“We had 100 new homes built last year and more than 230 total family units, including apartments. When I first started in 2004, I would have been happy to hit 100 total permits for the year, including basements, fences and decks, with maybe 18 new homes,” said Kevin Nissen, who oversees planning and zoning.

“I’m already at 30 new homes so far this year and 14 multifamily units, for a total of 44.”

There’s a lot more housing to come, including an exciting waterfront development on the north end of town.

“Nine Mile Lake is our newest addition, and they’re digging a 22-acre lake on the north end of Tea, which will have primarily single family but also multifamily and commercial along the 85th Street corridor, so that’s an exciting new development,” Nissen said.

“It will be higher-end homes – they’re large lots – along with primarily twin homes and fourplexes for multifamily and some commercial. They’re moving dirt as we speak, and we’re rezoning the first phase.”

Other projects in the works include a senior housing development bringing options for those 50 and older in a combination of single-family homes and multifamily housing.

“It’s where the Pizza Ranch is, east on Brian on the east side of Nine Mile Creek, and we’re in the plan review stages now,” Nissen said.

“I was nervous going into 2022 because our latest housing addition opened up to the south of City Hall and opened 40-some lots, and they all sold in one day. Another phase will be coming this summer with 50-some more lots, so that will be good, but for now there aren’t many lots available.”

The community also continues to invest and plan for quality-of-life improvements, including its athletic park, which has experienced strong demand for soccer, baseball and softball.

“We want to support those programs and support the expansion of the school district, so we’re just looking ahead and really focusing overall on how to support growth,” Voelker said. “We’ve done a lot in the last five years, but now it’s going to be making sure we have services for people as they come to town.”

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With commercial, residential development surge, Tea prepares for more growth ahead

A lakefront housing development, new businesses opening and a new mayor are just some of the changes unfolding in Tea this spring.

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