The vision goes something like this:
It’s a beautiful day to enjoy views of Falls Park in downtown Sioux Falls, and the alley at The Steel District is full. Outdoor diners co-mingle among four restaurant patios, entertained by musicians as visitors stroll along the adjacent River Greenway.
“We’re going to create an incredible vibe back there in the alley come patio season,” said Jake Quasney, Lloyd’s chief operating officer.
“We envision a place you can hang out, where families can come during the day and there are things for kids to do. You can walk back and forth to Jacobson Plaza and at night stay late for drinks and dinner. We’ll have a central outdoor bar set up so you can get a drink no matter what restaurant you’re at or you don’t have to eat at all. It’s diverse enough you can be here awhile.”
Now that Lloyd Construction has finished both the River Greenway and Jacobson Plaza, “that whole area will be completely open for the public to enjoy,” Quasney continued.
“Levitt will wrap up its construction, and then on the north end of downtown between The Steel District and The Cascade, you’ve got seven or eight restaurants and four or five bars, so there are a lot of great offerings for people to experience. We’re excited about the way it’s performing and think there’s a lot of opportunity for the future.”
Lloyd also now manages the three restaurants that are part of its mixed-use office tower at The Steel District: Big Sioux Burger, which will rebrand slightly in the coming weeks, Dahlia Kitchen + Bar and Ironwood Steakhouse.
While the concepts were developed in the Twin Cities, “running them in-house will give us greater efficiency and be more adept as change is needed. We’re already looking at some fun changes, like allowing you to order off the menus from both Big Sioux and Dahlia so we ensure there’s something everyone in your party will like on the menu no matter where you’re seated.”
The development’s Canopy by Hilton hotel marked one year in business recently, exceeding projections and drawing company recognition for its strong start by Hilton’s corporate office.
“The District Lofts are 95 percent leased, and our office tower is nearly full with average rents higher than we expected,” Quasney said.
Later this month will mark one year since the passing of company co-founder Craig Lloyd, who positioned the company for sustainable growth after many years of succession planning.
“I think Craig would be really proud to see all of the activity at The Steel District and Jacobson Plaza,” Quasney said.
“On the business side, we were ready for all the things you can be ready for. What you can’t be ready for is the loss of the little things you took for granted when he was here — talking to him. Sometimes his advice was helpful, and sometimes it made you want to pull your hair out, but it challenged us. And you miss it.”
Lloyd made sure “we were all ready for what came next,” he added. “All our key partners and everyone who needed to understand it was going to be OK were prepared for it. Business basically never stopped. And that’s a testament to not just Craig but the whole family. Every step required something that goes back to the family, and they set it up to go on.”
New growth areas
At nearly 500 team members, Lloyd Cos. not only has sustained but also evolved in key ways over the past year.
There are four key markets: Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Des Moines and its newest — northwest Arkansas, a metro area anchored by Walmart headquarters in Bentonville that includes Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and surrounding areas.
In Arkansas, “we put our first shovel in the ground this summer — an affordable housing project in Rogers — and our second one, an owner-occupied townhome project in Bentonville, just kicked off,” Quasney said. “We are quickly becoming a very active part of the community and building strong partnerships, and it’s been great. It’s very complementary to what we have going on in Sioux Falls. It feels a lot like doing business in Sioux Falls.”
Relationships that began in Sioux Falls led Lloyd to Arkansas, where “we had the good fortune to be introduced to some great bankers who have helped introduce us and connect us to opportunities,” Quasney said. “Their metro is just over 600,000, and you can see what happens when major businesses begin to invest in a community — not just Walmart, but Tyson Foods is huge there as is J.B. Hunt, so it’s a diverse economy plus there’s an SEC (Southeastern Conference) school, and it’s becoming a major medical hub.”
Lloyd is focused on multifamily projects in Arkansas “and bringing our expertise in wood-frame construction, which is really an area of opportunity,” Quasney said. “So we’ve been very active on the third-party construction side there.”
In western South Dakota, Lloyd wrapped up its largest project in Rapid City in 2025 with the mixed-use Block 5, which includes a Hyatt Place hotel, downtown lofts and retail space.
“We’re still working on third-party work and spreading out into the Black Hills a little bit,” Quasney said. “We’re doing an affordable housing project in Spearfish and emphasizing being part of the community.”
Another new area of growth is in hospitality.
“We’ve done a lot of limited-service and closer to full-service hotels between Canopy and Hyatt and Hilton Garden Inn, but we now are entering into a partnership with My Place to develop 10 hotels across the Midwest,” Quasney said.
Lloyd and Aberdeen-based My Place “are very aligned, so it’s been a very good partnership,” he said. “They have a very resilient model that weathers the ups and downs of the hospitality industry. It markets very well during both high and low tides. The rooms include a kitchen with stove and fridge and are a great fit for people traveling for construction, medical reasons and those things. It’s a great complement to the high-scale product we have and a unique opportunity to diversify.”
Closer to home, “I’m excited for our Engineered Truss Systems business in Brandon,” Quasney said. “We’ve got a partnership where we’re building some specialty products as fully assembled buildings, and I think the horizon for the traditional products we’ve been making there continues to show the needle pointing up too.”
After several years of robust development in Sioux Falls, look for Lloyd Cos. to pursue some multifamily projects in town this year, especially townhomes, as well as multiple affordable housing projects. Its redevelopment of the former Mercado site west of downtown will start this year and include affordable apartments while serving as a new home for Southeastern Behavioral HealthCare.
“I feel really good about Sioux Falls,” Quasney said. “I look at all the other places we do business, and in context, Sioux Falls is very competitive. But it’s everyone competing to make everyone else better. The community lives by the mantra that a rising tide raises all boats.”
That reflects a broader sentiment in Sioux Falls, said Bob Mundt, president and CEO of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“Lloyd Cos. captures the spirit of our community in such a powerful way,” he said. “It’s exciting to see their next generation bringing the same commitment as the founders showed. For years, Lloyd has stepped up time and time when the community has had a need, including as generous ongoing investors in Forward Sioux Falls.”
Lloyd Cos. hopes that other family businesses continue to transition generationally and make the same commitment to the community, Quasney said.
“For us, Sioux Falls is home,” he said. “It’s going to be the primary place we do things. We’re just seizing opportunities to make sure we don’t force it and continue to be successful. It’s all about responsible growth, taking care of our partners and our team.”
Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.
