Winnebago Tribe explores new frontiers as opportunities grow on homelands

Monday, February 18, 2019  

By Kevin Abourezk

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Nebraska – On the banks of the Missouri River, not far from where Lewis and Clark camped briefly at the start of their long journey west 215 years ago, a Nebraska tribe is exploring new frontiers of its own.

The Winnebago Tribe has begun construction on an ambitious housing and commercial development that will transform this northeast Nebraska city, much like the tribe has modernized its own reservation just 20 miles south.

The development, known as Flatwater Crossing, will include construction of 1,100 homes ranging from apartments and townhomes to cottages and larger estate homes. The project, which is being developed on 200 acres in the northeast corner of South Sioux City, also will include retail, restaurants and offices.

Flatwater’s first customers recently began moving into their newly built homes.

“We’re really building a whole community where a cornfield existed a couple years ago,” said Dennis Johnson, chief investment officer for Ho-Chunk Inc., the Winnebago Tribe’s economic development corporation.

Flatwater Crossing is just one of several major projects that Ho-Chunk Inc. is developing in Winnebago and the nearby communities of South Sioux City and Sioux City, Iowa. The corporation also recently began renovating two dilapidated warehouses in Sioux City just off Interstate 29 and has begun several new housing and commercial projects in Winnebago.

But the company’s most visible investment in the region must be Ho-Chunk Centre, a 10-story office building that the firm and its partners purchased from a fertilizer company about six years ago. The high-rise, known for its reflective glass windows, overlooks downtown Sioux City and features the company’s name and logo on its roof.

After the death of one its fellow investors in the building, Ho-Chunk Inc. bought out its other partners to become the sole owner of Ho-Chunk Centre.

A few blocks from Ho-Chunk Centre, the company began purchasing old brick warehouses in downtown Sioux City about two years ago, unsure what it might do with the buildings, Johnson said. One of the company’s subsidiaries – Ho-Chunk Capital, which Johnson manages – decided to get into real estate development recently after having invested in several developments over the years.

Real estate development allows Ho-Chunk Inc. – which has largely focused on government contracting and tobacco manufacturing for revenue generation until now – to diversify its investments, Johnson said.

Another Ho-Chunk Inc. subsidiary, HCI Construction, serves as the general contractor for projects that Ho-Chunk Capital plans and designs. Once the two companies complete projects, another subsidiary, Keller Williams, a real estate brokerage, then markets and sells or leases the properties.

About two years ago, Ho-Chunk Capital decided to renovate two of the former warehouses it purchased for about $400,000 in downtown Sioux City. Since then, Ho-Chunk Capital has invested $29 million into the two buildings.

“They were kind of an eyesore, in an area of town that was going to be one of the new main entrances to downtown,” Johnson said.

The buildings are part of a project called Virginia Square and have been renovated into condominiums, apartments, offices and a restaurant.

The building called 100 Virginia Square has 20 1- to 2-bedroom apartments and a restaurant, Table 32, on the first floor. All of the apartments feature stainless steel appliances, modern finishes, quartz countertops and large windows. They cost between $975 and $1,100 a month to lease.

The second building, called, 103 Virginia Square, is five-story mixed-use building with office space on the first floor and 30 1- to 2-bedroom apartments and seven modern condominiums on the upper floors. The apartments feature quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and rooftop community space and cost between $1,275 and $1,650 a month to lease.

The condominiums feature two bedrooms and three bathrooms and include modern finishes with quartz countertops, appliances, large windows and private access to a rooftop community space. They can either be purchased or leased for between $2,400 and $2,950 a month.

And Ho-Chunk Capital isn’t through with Virginia Square.

The company plans to demolish a third warehouse it purchased adjacent to the other two buildings to make way for a hotel on the site. Avid, a Holiday Inn brand, will construct and manage the 83-room hotel. Work on the hotel is set to begin this spring and be completed in 2020.

Johnson said Avid approached Ho-Chunk Capital with the hotel proposal.

“They’ve built several hotels ground up so they definitely know what they’re doing,” he said. “That’s one of our investment rules. We only invest with people that have actually done it before.”

And in a fourth lot adjacent to the other three in Virginia Square, Ho-Chunk Capital plans to begin construction on a 45-unit apartment complex with 4,000 square feet of retail space and indoor parking. However, the company isn’t sure yet when it will begin work on the apartment complex, Johnson said.

With the completion of a new exit off Interstate 29 a few blocks away, Virginia Square is positioned well to take advantage of increased traffic in the area, Johnson said. Sioux City officials also are planning to develop the site of a former riverboat casino a few blocks away that will provide additional traffic and visitors to the area.

“This now has one of the main exits off the interstate into downtown Sioux City,” he said.

Johnson said Sioux City officials have offered substantial support to Ho-Chunk Capital to develop Virginia Square, including economic incentives and zoning expertise.

Across the river in South Sioux City on a recent afternoon, construction crews continued work on a multi-use building in Flatwater Crossing. The building, which will include retail on the first floor and apartments in the upper floor, should be finished by the end of the year.

Across the street, basements have been completed for five townhomes along the river.

Construction on Flatwater is in its first of three phases. When completed, the first phase will include a boat dock, five community greenspaces, four commercial buildings and housing lots ranging from about 3,000 square feet to nearly 41,000 square feet.

Customers can either choose to build their own homes on the lots they purchase, or they can choose to have Ho-Chunk Inc.’s home-building company, BluStone Homes, construct one for them.

Flatwater Crossing is designed to be a walkable community where people can eat dinner and then take a stroll along the riverfront, said Pat Wojcik, Siouxland community manager for Ho-Chunk Capital.

“This is a great adventure for all of us,” She said. “We want to encourage everyone in the community to participate.”

But even as the company seeks to revitalize parts of Sioux City and South Sioux City, it also plans to continue to improve Winnebago. One of Ho-Chunk Inc.’s most prominent developments in Winnebago is Ho-Chunk Village, a housing and commercial development on the community’s northern border.

Ho-Chunk Village includes offices for Ho-Chunk Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as single-family homes, apartment complexes, a coffee shop and a restaurant.

Johnson said Ho-Chunk Capital is especially proud to be able to offer contemporary apartments with high-end finishes and appliances, either for long-term lease or overnight stays. Two of the apartments are fully furnished with dishware, silverware, towels and bedding.

The apartments cost $1,300 a month to rent, including utilities.

“It’s similar to an extended stay,” said Qui Qui St Cyr, community manager for Ho-Chunk Capital.

And work on the next phase of Ho-Chunk Village has begun with construction of an indoor farmers’ market where food producers and vendors will be able to sell their products. The farmers’ market is set to open around June 1.

Meanwhile, construction has begun down the street on another multi-use building that will include office and retail space on the first floor and seven apartments on the upper floor. A four-plex apartment complex across the street was completed recently as well.

“It’s not your traditional tribal housing,” Johnson said. “Everything is top quality finishes, design and really contemporary and cutting edge.”

He said Ho-Chunk Inc. has nearly completely developed the initial 40 acres that it purchased several years ago and is now looking to develop another 40 acres to the north of Ho-Chunk Village that it has purchased.

The company plans to break ground soon on a nine-acre development that will include more homes, apartments and retail.

Potential homebuyers who are Winnebago tribal citizens will have access to down payment assistance of up to $65,000, Johnson said.

“That’s a substantial benefit so that’s driving a lot of interest in home ownership,” he said.

Housing growth in Winnebago has led many tribal citizens, who left the community to pursue education and job opportunities, to return home, Johnson said.

“This gives tribal members an opportunity to not only work in Winnebago but to live in Winnebago,” he said. “It’s got a huge positive ripple effect to the community.”

Now Ho-Chunk Capital is preparing for its next opportunity and hopes to get other tribes involved in investing in future projects.

Johnson said many tribes currently focus their investments on stocks and bonds, rather than higher-risk, higher-reward investments like real estate development. He said tribes should consider investing 10 to 30 percent of their capital into real estate as a way to diversify and gain greater profits.

“We feel like we’ve got some good opportunities on the horizon that we feel would be compelling investment opportunities for others,” he said.

Ho-Chunk Inc. owns Indianz.Com. The website is not involved in the corporation's activities.

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