SB Friedman was engaged to evaluate the potential to attract additional retail stores and restaurants to the City of Yankton. The study also identified strategic, seasonal, tourism-based economic development strategies.
The firm evaluated site conditions and location characteristics, analyzed competitive supply and demand, conducted interviews with brokers and regional economic development professionals and assessed the retail and tourism-based market potential. SB Friedman completed the following key work steps:
Part I: Retail Market
- Overview of existing conditions (review of access, visibility, adjacent uses and traffic counts) of key development-ready sites.
- Inventory and analysis of existing local and regional retail clusters, major tenants and shopping centers.
- Analysis of retail leakage or dollars of retail demand that are being spent outside of the local and regional market areas.
- Analysis of demographic trends in the area that influence the City’s market potential to attract additional retail development.
- Analysis of potential new retailers anticipated to grow in South Dakota in the near term, and their site and demographic targets against site and demographic/economic conditions in Yankton.
Part II: Tourism and Seasonal Visitor Market
- Research and analysis focused on tourism-related business potential in the City.
- Case study research on three aspirational comparable waterfront tourism-based communities in the Midwest, including the Brainerd Lakes Area in Minnesota, the Boulder Junction Area in Wisconsin, and the Devil’s Lake Area in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
- Summarized key recommendations based on comparable research that may guide the development of a future tourism-based retail strategy in Yankton.
Results: The study results were presented to the City Commission and the local economic development corporation. The City is considering where to target resources in pursuit of additional retailers and, if so, what steps to take incentivize development.