Sioux City Times

Nelson Construction & Development has plans to bring the Benson Building in Sioux City back to life after it recently purchased the building, the Sioux City Journal reported.

The six-story building, which was built in 1920, was sold for $350,000 and the company is in the process of registering it as an Iowa historic building, Steve Nelson, the head of the company, told the news agency.

"You'll see a lot of restoration, not necessarily new things added," Nelson told the news agency.

The company wants to return the building back to its glory days of the 1920s and 1930s and homes to use the original planning documents from a century ago that it obtained, according to the news agency.

The company also wants to put apartments on the top three floors and make the second floor an office space. The first floor is already 80% occupied and the basement may become an underground parking garage, the news agency reported. The company is also considering a rooftop patio space, which would have a view of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, according to the news agency.

Nelson hopes to start on interior work on the building in the next two months and then do more construction beginning in the fall. The company estimates that it would be about 12 to 14 months before apartments would be leased, the news agency reported.

The building is within the federal "Opportunity Zone" which belongs to a 2017 tax law that provides owners with tax advantages for properties within the areas because those areas are considered to be economically distressed, according to the news agency.

The building was purchased in Fall 2018 by Warnock Development for $150,000, but then the company decided to sell the building. Before Warnock had purchased it, it had been occupied by local artists who held art shows. A martial arts business was also within the building before that, the news agency reported.