Apartments rise quickly along St. Joe

A new apartment building near the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is on schedule to go from foundation to finished in just five months.

Using pre-cast concrete panels, contractor J. Scull Construction Services expects to have the six-story building finished by Aug. 15, in time for 130 students to move into the two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and start the school year.

Passers-by will see the progress advance by a floor a week for the next five weeks, and the roof will go up during the sixth week, leaving time for interior finish work.

The time frame is very aggressive for a six-story structure, Scull project manager Brandon Moore said. Getting turned loose in April and then finishing in August is a quick turnaround.

He said the precast panels are trucked to the site from a manufacturer in Sioux Falls.

In addition to being quick to install, the panels are energy-efficient, with insulation within the panel, along with more insulation installed on the interior wall.

You really get an efficient building type that will reduce heating and cooling costs, Moore said.

Project developer Hani Shafai, owner of Dream Design International, said his management group, Technology Housing LLC, has started leasing units in the building, which is called Rocker Square. Rents range from $370 to $475 a month for a 12-month lease, with the option of furnished or unfurnished space. The price includes utilities, a washer/dryer unit in each apartment, plus cable and Internet.

When this apartment building is finished, Shafai said, he will start construction on a similar apartment building next door that will have apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom units. Together, the buildings will house 336 people. The ground floor of the first building will include a management office, a common area and a small coffee shop run by the universitys food-services provider.

The apartments are being built on the former site of a group of dilapidated houses and apartments that were razed this spring. The construction is the first step in the School of Mines 30-year, $500 million plan to redevelop the neighborhood between the university campus and East Boulevard. Plans call for student housing, a new sports arena and event center, parking structures and an expanded student center.

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Apartments rise quickly along St. Joe