Schwan: Selling a legacy – The Lacey estate

Despite what the real estate statistics might indicate, it probably won't ever really be a seller's market for Lois Brown.

Brown's property is an agricultural island in urbanized northeast Sioux Falls.

On her six acres at the northeast corner of Sixth Street and Bahnson Avenue, horses graze and kids from nearby Anne Sullivan Elementary take field trips to her apple orchard.

The Argus Leader introduced readers to Brown about this time last year, when she first allowed a "for sale" sign to appear on the property that has been in her family since April 1, 1901.

Sticking that sign in the ground put a crack in her heart, Brown said at the time.

The sign came down over the winter but not before the land attracted interest from potential buyers.

"It would have been big apartment complexes," Brown said with a half-sigh.

Needless to say, they didn't make a deal.

But spring is here, and with it comes a new chance for new life on this unique land. Brown has all sorts of ideas, but finding a buyer might prove complicated.

Her three horses inspired some of her options. Brown has visions of a facility for equine-assisted therapy that would help people with physical disabilities and emotional problems.

"They're finding that working with horses does so much for people," she said. "It's just really, really phenomenal."

Brown also has reached out to neighboring property owners, the Sioux Falls School District and the city. She had visions of an indoor swimming pool on her land, similar to how the schools, park, community center and library are co-located nearby.

"The city has not showed any interest in that even though they're looking for an indoor facility and the people who live around me would not be unhappy," Brown said.

At one time, Brown's family owned 80 acres in the area and farmed corn, beans and potatoes after coming to South Dakota from the East Coast to escape tuberculosis.

"They knew nothing about farming. They knew nothing about this area. All they knew was that they had to get their family out," Brown said.

The family name is Lacey, a legacy that lives on in the city's Lacey Park on donated land from Brown's uncle. Her father sold part of their land for Washington High School and Anne Sullivan Elementary. The city bought property for Kenny Anderson Park. Brown said her father gave the city right of way for Bahnson Avenue to extend north of Sixth Street. Bahnson was moved west of where it had been planned to avoid being built right next to the Lacey barn, which still sits on the property today.

Now, six acres and centuries of history are all that's left.

Her new real estate representative, Ryan Tysdal, knows how the family's roots run deep here.

Tysdal also is marketing the Foss Fields retail development land north of Menards along the new Highway 100. Before the Fosses, those 350 acres also were owned by the Lacey family.

"I can relate to what Lois is saying in how a piece of land develops," said Tysdal, of Lloyd Cos. "It's a balance between heritage and selling it for the amount you want. Sometimes those work in favor of each other, and sometimes they don't."

In this case, the land is on the market for about $1 million. Brown said she isn't willing to compromise on that and is willing to wait however long it takes for a satisfactory buyer.

She reminded me some people pay that much in southern Sioux Falls for a house without much additional property.

"Do you have anything to look at?" she asked rhetorically. "Do you have open sky? Do you have a view?"

Tysdal is marketing the frontage along Sixth Street as potential office space and the rest of the land as residential. He hasn't discounted interest from the public sector and said the whole parcel could sell to a single user such as a nonprofit.

That part of Sioux Falls is increasingly diverse. At Anne Sullivan, half the students are minorities, and two-thirds receive free or reduced lunches. A creative buyer might be able to serve the neighborhood in a unique way.

"It will be marketed as a rare opportunity for a rather large parcel of land within the city," Tysdal said.

I agree it's a rare opportunity. There are only a few parcels within the city that remain agricultural, and the chance to develop them with the benefit of knowing how the surrounding area has matured is a valuable one.

Coincidentally, Sioux Falls voters just passed a new zoning ordinance that will allow developers greater flexibility to be creative and innovative in their projects. I'm excited to see how these new tools are used, and the Lacey Estate might provide a good chance to try them out.

It's clear, however, that Brown cares enough to wait for what she considers the right buyer and is in no hurry to cash out for a quick sale.

"What I really, really want is to be satisfied all the way around," she said. "A good price for the property, because it's worth it."

Jodi Schwan is editor of the Sioux Falls Business Journal. Reach her at 977-3970 or jschwan@sfbusinessjournal.com.