Tower Road, which crosses over U.S. Highway 16 behind Rapid City Medical Center, is to reopen on Saturday, Nov. 22, during a special ribbon-cutting ceremony that also marks the creation of a future office park and condominiums on 100 acres along the ridge south and west of Ruby Tuesday's.

"Tower Road is the first phase of the project," said Merlin Brenden, project manager for Skyline Pines East, a limited liability partnership of businessmen from Rapid City and Grand Island, Neb.

Dirt work and site preparation has been in full swing for weeks on the $70 million to $80 million development, which will include a 17-acre office park featuring nine one- to three-acre office-commercial building sites, eight townhomes and one single-family home.

Over the next year, Skyline Pines plans to market and sell the office-commercial sites and begin the design phase for condominium towers. The plan calls for four seven-story buildings with 49 condominiums per building, indoor parking, nature trails, a fitness facility and social center.

The company has teamed with Bob Drew and Rich Evans of Coldwell Banker to market the property.

Drew said the average retail price on the condos will be in the $200,000 neighborhood, and the townhomes and residential home also will be upscale.

"It's going to be a nice-looking place. The condos are going to be anywhere from 1,000 square feet, or you could buy an entire floor of 7,500 to 8,000 square feet in the penthouse," he said. The townhomes "will probably be $300,000 to $400,000, easy. But the views are stunning."

Drew said the entire 100-acre development has a great overlook of the city. It's close to the hospital, which is a big component of the market the developers hope to attract. And as development continues along Highway 16 and moves up Catron Boulevard, the development will have a prime location, he said.

"We're having a lot of fun with it. It's a great piece of land," he said. "Try to find another location in town to have an office building that has that kind of view. It doesn't exist."

Brenden said the project has been in development for more than a year, and ground was broken last fall. So far, three of the nine commercial lots are under purchase contract, and all eight residential lots on the Tower Court cul-de-sac are under contract.

The condominiums will be north of the office park. Brenden said 30 percent to 50 percent of the units will need to be sold before the condominium structure is built. A condominium model will be available at an office on the site to show prospective buyers what to expect.

"We're pretty excited about it. We think it will be pretty nice," he said.

The ribbon cutting for the road is scheduled for 10 a.m. The road has been closed since June.

Tax increment financing was used to pay for the reconstruction of Tower Road and the installation of public water and sewer utilities to the development. The costs included $2.93 million for road reconstruction and utilities, $465,000 in professional services and $243,000 for some grading necessary for a future Fairmont road extension.

Mayor Alan Hanks said the road reconstruction was desperately needed because a stretch of the road was literally falling off the side of the hill. The project created an opportunity to partner with the developer to rebuild the road using a TIF.

Hanks said the TIF, which covers only public improvements, is an example of an appropriate use of the financing method, in addition to providing space for new business and residences.

"This is a good example of how we can use TIFs in a good partnership with developers to replace aging infrastructure and develop land that adds benefit," Hanks said. "It gives us the opportunity to encourage and house professionals close to the hospital, which is a major draw of our economy. The medical side of things is one of the biggest economic engines we have in our community."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com