SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The city of Salem couldn’t replace what two derecho storms took away in 2022, but it’s building something new to replace what is lost.

The city had a ribbon cutting and open house on Wednesday for a new city hall and community center.

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“We’re very pleased,” city mayor Glenda Bindert said as she walked through the new building before Wednesday’s ceremony. The new community center replaces the former National Guard armory that served as a community center for many years.

A July derecho took the roof off the armory. Instead of repairing it, the city chose to build new.

“The old building wasn’t meeting the needs of the community,” Blindert said.

The city had been upgrading the armory over the years but it was expensive, said Brad Kranz, a member of Salem Economic Development.

Rather than try and repair a building that was costly to heat and cool and was outdated, the city used the insurance money to build a new city hall and community center at a cost of about $4 million, Blindert said.

The new facility is several blocks north of a new housing development that started as an idea not long after a May derecho tore the roof from the nursing home, causing significant damage.

The nursing home was a loss, Blindert said but city officials and community leaders also saw an opportunity for different kinds of homes.

Individual businesses and members of the community provided seed money to create the Salem Economic Development organization.

“We just didn’t have any lots available,” Blindert said of a housing need. “There wasn’t a lot of housing for sale.”

Salem Economic Development bought the nursing home along with property the owners had next to it for a housing development called Colonial Estate Addition. The first phase is about 19 lots.

Kranz and Blindert said the lots will be sold to individuals or contractors and single family homes and multi-family homes, such as twin homes, are acceptable.

A twin home has already been built along Center Street. Kranz said there is interest in other lots but those really can’t be sold until the utilities are in place. A contractor was working on installing water, sewer and storm sewer lines on Wednesday.

“This is quite the project,” Blindert said on Wednesday as she looked over the property while machines were working near one street.

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The streets will be stubbed in, or made ready for completion after the utilities are installed. Blindert said the organization didn’t want to tear up new streets for utility work.

She estimated the cost to install utilities at $1.5 million. American Rescue Plan Act money was used to help pay for the utility work.

But no one who donated money to the economic development non-profit expects to make money, including herself, Blindert said.

The lots will be sold at break-even prices, “we don’t want to make any money,” Blindert said.

No one who donated money to the economic development non-profit expects to make money from any project including herself, Blindert said

The lot prices will likely be lower than what’s available in other communities such as Sioux Falls.

Salem residents need only look left or right and north to get an idea that the small town may be ideally situated to fill those lots.

Kranz said since Salem is not far from Interstate 90, roughly 40 minutes from Sioux Falls and the same to Mitchell and just a bit closer to Madison, it is attractive to commuters.

Blindert said it’s quicker to reach the Arrowhead Industrial Park in northern Sioux Falls from Salem than it is to travel from eastern Sioux Falls to the park.

Kranz also pointed out the campus on which the new city hall and community center were built.

Facilities on that campus include a revamped baseball field, a softball field and facilities used by the local 4-H club and FFA.

The new city hall replaces a building that was on the campus. The city closed a street and will add additional paved parking to the campus.

The two projects took the cooperation of the city council, the economic non-profit, the school district, and community leaders, Blindert said.

The new community center has large windows and ceiling high enough for pickleball, and a section of the flooring nearest the wall is suitable for a walking track, but it’s not large enough for a basketball court.

The school district told the city there was no need for another basketball court, Blindert said.

What can be found in the community center is a kitchen with lots of plugs and space for catering equipment under a center counter. There is a large gathering space for about 350 people, a mid-sized meeting room and a smaller room used by the city council. The city offices are also inside.

“The working conditions weren’t that great,” Blindert said of the prior city hall office.

Kranz has lived in Salem his entire life. He recalled questioning the need for adding more stop signs over the years. Now he believes others will be attracted to the small-town life that has kept him in Salem.

The new housing development, the new city hall and community center along with other features like the sports complexes, pool and school are reasons Salem is attractive, Kranz said.

And it seems, the city and Salem Economic Development won’t be stopping with these two projects.

Blindert said the economic development non-profit joined the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance which recently toured the city’s industrial park.

“We’ve got one lot sold there,” Blindert said. That area will be getting more attention, she said.

That attention would likely not have happened if the derecho hadn’t blown into town.

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