Following site change, Mitchell (SD) Technical Institute apartment project moves forward

After some initial excavation headaches and a site change, construction of the first student apartment building — Campus Tech Apartment Building One -is under way at the Mitchell Technical Institute south campus.

“We just need it not to rain,” Puetz Corporation CEO Wayne Puetz said in a Wednesday telephone interview.

The $3 million, privately financed project faces a tight deadline.

“Tight is an understatement,” Puetz said, “but we can do it.”

The 45-unit apartment complex must be completed by Aug. 20 and be ready for student move-in by Aug. 28.

Puetz said crews are in the process of completing foundation work and will likely begin framing the new apartment’s structure by early May. Many wall sections are being prefabricated and will later be assembled on-site to speed construction.

The 33,000 square foot project — 11,000 on each of three floors — will have six efficiency apartments, 33 two-bedroom apartments and six four-bedroom apartments. When full, it will accommodate 96 students. Mills Property Management, of Brookings, will manage the new apartments. Problem soils at the original build- ing site called for a major overhaul of the campus master plan, Puetz said.

The new apartment building will be about 240 yards west of the originally planned site, just northwest of the existing technology center building.

Soils at the first site had excessive organic material.

“It was absolutely terrible soil,” he said. “We would have had to excavate the entire site to a depth of seven feet, and that would have blown our budget.”

The soils situation means that future apartment buildings also will be built along the perimeter of the MTI site to take advantage of better building soils. Interior areas with less buildable soils will be landscaped for student use.

The adjusted master plan means a reduced site size for future student apartments. The original master plan called for up to four student apartment buildings. The smaller site will allow a maximum of three apartment buildings, Puetz said.

State law prohibits the ownership of on-campus housing by technical schools. The current and future apartments on the MTI campus will be developed by Puetz Development, which leases land for the apartments from the MTI Foundation.

Campus Tech Apartment One is the limited liability corporation in charge of the first building, said company spokesman Mark Puetz. Private investment will be used to finance all apartment projects.

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