New construction hits city record

Building permits hit an all-time record in Tea in 2021.

Planning and zoning administrator Kevin Nissen said they had 99 new home starts for the year for single family homes. That beats the previous record which was last year with 71 new single family homes.

“It’s quite a jump in one year,” he said.

They also had 132 multi-family units. Together, building permits for housing totaled 231.

“Our previous record was last year with 199. We blew that one out of the ballpark too,” Nissen said.

In 2010, they did a total of $5 million valuation and in 2021 they had a $45 million valuation.

“We’ve added $40 million to our valuation in 10 years. I don’t think we’ll be looking back much. We’ll have little dips now and then,” he said.

Demand for new construction is up all over the region. In the Boulder Addition on the south end of Tea, they have completed phase 3 and gotten asphalt, water and streets in and are ready for construction this year.

Development continues to the north and east as well. Kelly Nielson has development happening in Pinnacle Addition and is working on plans for a planned development area. Mike Runge has a development on the north end by Tempo Soccer that will have larger homes and a 20-acre lake.

“I think the builders are building them as fast as they can build them and they’re selling them,” Nissen said. “People are moving from all over the country to South Dakota for whatever reason. These homes are going up fast.”

While commercial and industrial permits were not a record, they were in line with the last three years at almost $14 million worth of projects.

A lot of businesses are looking at the Bakker Landing area along the interstate. Casey’s and Carswap are currently under construction.

In order to prepare for growth, the city has had to invest in infrastructure like widening Highway 106 and erecting the water tower in Bakker Landing.

“You’ve got a beautiful four lane road coming into the city, which really shows growth. It shows the city is really progressive and working with businesses to get something done like this,” he said.