Bender Hired to Advise Regents on SD School for the Deaf Campus

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Board of Regents today announced that Bender Commercial Real Estate Services (Michael Bender, Principal) has been retained to assist the board in developing a commercially reasonable plan to sell and/or lease its 14.5-acre South Dakota School for the Deaf campus on 10th Street near downtown Sioux Falls.

A recent report to the regents recommended selling approximately 6 acres of green space at the School for the Deaf and leasing out much of its 98,000 square feet of building space, which includes offices, classrooms, indoor pool, and gymnasium. Selling the entire 14.5-acre campus also remains an option, the report noted.

Bender was hired as a consultant to help enhance the efficiency and use of the deaf school property. “The hiring of the Bender team as a consultant is the next step forward in a process that was started earlier this year to evaluate the campus and determine how best to use the site to meet the needs of the school and to maximize the income that can be derived,” said Mike Rush, the regents’ executive director and CEO. “Our board felt that we needed the services of a local consultant with an understanding of real estate development and knowledge of the Sioux Falls market.”

“We are pleased to have been selected by the Board of Regents,” Bender said. “Our team has been involved with the Whittier Area and the School for the Deaf in the past. We look forward to continuing our involvement and working with members of the board, staff at the School for the Deaf, and the residents of the surrounding neighborhood to develop a viable and achievable strategy for the property.”