Press Room > 2004 :

Madison Tech Center Designed to Attract and Retain Young Adults

RELEASE DATE: Monday, August 23, 2004

For More Information Contact: Mary Lehecka Nelson, 773-3301

Pierre, SD – Gov. Mike Rounds announced today that the development of a $1.3 million technology center in Madison will help move the state forward on its 2010 Initiative goal of attracting and retaining young adults in South Dakota.

Ground was broken last week on a 10,000-square-foot facility in Madison. The building is the first of four planned centers for Madison.

“I commend the city of Madison for its innovative and aggressive approach to attracting and retaining young adults in the area,” said Gov. Rounds. “This state-of-the-art facility will be a wonderful addition to Madison and the state.”

Russell Olson, director of the Lake Area Improvement Corporation, said the Madison Technology Center is an investment in the future economic prosperity of Madison and Lake County.

“Our vision is to provide an atmosphere that allows companies with information systems jobs to locate in Madison, ultimately retaining graduates of Dakota State University,” said. Olson. “We have an aggressive five-year plan to build three more centers in our new technology park. 

The park, located at the north end of Dakota State University, was selected because of its proximity to the school.

“This is another example of how education and economic development can partner for the betterment of our state,” said Rounds. “By effectively including the leadership of Dakota State University leadership in the early phases of this project, Madison has set a plan in place that will move this community forward for years to come.”

Madison has two lease commitments for the new center. “We’ve already had two IT companies that are interested in moving in. One is a local company interested in expanding and the other is an out-of-state company that would expand to Madison,” said Olson. “Basically this project hits on several of the state’s 2010 Initiative goals. Our main objective was to find a way to retain our students, but in the process we are adding to the state’s gross state product and helping establish a new cluster in our area,” Olson said.

The project received funding from several sources, including a $265,000 loan from the state’s Revolving Economic Development and Initiative Fund.