Brookings apartment construction has shifted into a higher gear: two large buildings with about 200 units combined are rising within a few blocks of South Dakota State University, a 132-unit income-targeted complex won City Council support in January 2026, and housing permits in Brookings County jumped in 2025. For owners of existing apartment buildings, that pipeline means more competition for SDSU-area renters in the near term, set against a city that has grown steadily and still has a renter majority.
This article looks at the projects, the zoning and financing tools behind them, the demand they are chasing and what the new supply means for older buildings in the city.
Brookings in context: growth, students and renters
Brookings has been the county seat of Brookings County since November 4, 1879, chosen for its central location, according to the Brookings County history page. Today it is a university and manufacturing city in eastern South Dakota.
The Census Bureau’s QuickFacts for Brookings show a city that is growing:
- The 2020 Census counted 23,377 residents.
- The Vintage 2025 estimate for July 1, 2025 is 25,355.
- The owner-occupied housing rate for 2020–2024 was 47.7%, meaning a slight majority of households rent.
- Median gross rent for 2020–2024 was $889 a month, and median household income was $63,493.
- The median owner-occupied home value was $265,500, and average household size was 2.26.
Local reporting in May 2025, citing South Dakota state demographic estimates, put annual growth at about 1.3% and noted that new housing units added in the city ranged from 81 in 2010 to a high of 311 in 2022, with 137 added in 2024. The same report described a record $306.2 million in capital investment in 2023.
The projects now changing the skyline
Latitude 44 and Paragon near campus
The largest additions to the rental supply are two mixed-use buildings close to SDSU. According to the Brookings Register’s May 2025 coverage:
- Latitude 44 is a 114-unit building south of Sixth Street between 12th and 13th avenues, with commercial space on the main level. Construction was well under way by spring 2025.
- Paragon is an 84-unit building on Campanile Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets, where demolition of the existing structures was under way.
The SDSU student newspaper describes Latitude 44 as four stories and Paragon as five stories, together adding roughly 200 units within three blocks of campus, with rents described as in line with market rates. The developer told the paper that floodplain limits in parts of the city push development up rather than out, which helps explain why these buildings are taller than most of the city’s existing apartment stock. The two projects were expected to be completed in 2026.
A 132-unit complex aimed at moderate incomes
In February 2026 the Brookings Register reported that Mills Development Corp. plans a four-story, 132-unit building at the southeast corner of 20th Street South and 22nd Avenue South, with studios through three-bedroom units. Rents are to be set at levels affordable to households earning 80% of area median income, which the article put at $1,431 to $2,044 a month depending on unit size.
On January 27, 2026, the City Council voted 7-0 to support the developer’s application to South Dakota Housing for financial assistance. The city’s community development director said the resolution carried no financial obligation for the city. The project was described as being in preliminary planning, with no construction timeline or cost announced.
Branch Creek: ownership housing that shapes rental demand
Not all of the new construction is rental. Branch Creek, under way since 2024 on roughly 20 acres south of 20th Street South, is planned for about 130 owner-occupied homes built in phases through 2028, with rentals not allowed. Prices reported in 2024 started at $226,900 for townhomes and ranged from $294,900 to $374,900 for single-family homes. For apartment owners, projects like this matter because they give some long-term renters a path to ownership, which can increase turnover in older units. The project also combines city tax increment financing with a state infrastructure grant, both described below, which shows how public tools are being used across housing types in Brookings.
How the city zones for apartments
Brookings’ zoning ordinance, chapter 94 of the city code, sets out several residential districts: R-1, R-1A, R-1B, R-1C, R-2, R-3, R-3A and RMH, plus a planned development overlay. Two of them matter most for apartments:
- R-3 Apartment District. Section 94-127 describes R-3 as the district intended for the highest density of multifamily residential use. Apartments and townhouses are allowed by right, buildings with three or more units need a lot of at least 10,000 square feet, and the height limit is 60 feet. The section was last amended by Ordinance 22-027 in August 2022.
- R-2. Apartments in R-2 require a conditional use permit, density is capped at 18 units per acre and buildings are limited to 35 feet.
That difference explains where large projects can go. A 60-foot height limit in R-3 makes four- and five-story buildings possible, while R-2 sites are suited to smaller apartment buildings that must go through a conditional use process. The district list itself was amended in February 2025 by Ordinance No. 25-002.
The city’s long-range direction comes from the Brookings Comprehensive Plan, prepared by RDG Planning & Design and completed in 2018. Its goals include greater housing diversity and managing development pressure along the Sixth Street corridor, which is where Latitude 44 and Paragon are now being built.
Financing tools: TIF and state infrastructure money
Tax increment financing districts
Much of Brookings’ recent housing has used tax increment financing, which lets a city use the future growth in property taxes from a development to pay for eligible public costs. The South Dakota Department of Revenue’s 2025 TIF annual report lists several Brookings districts tied to housing:
- TIF No. 7, created in 2014, covering a mixed area of more than 300 acres that includes housing.
- TIF No. 8, created in August 2018, for 42 affordable workforce housing lots.
- TIF No. 14, created in August 2023, for affordable housing units.
- TIF No. 15, created in November 2023, for housing and commercial space.
- TIF No. 17, created in February 2025, for two apartment buildings with retail and parking, with a base value of $1,590,129.
The City Council approved the TIF No. 17 agreement with Sixth St. Development LLC by a 7-0 vote, according to local reporting. Branch Creek also used TIF, for up to $7.3 million in eligible infrastructure.
The state’s housing infrastructure program
South Dakota created a $200 million Housing Infrastructure Financing Program through Senate Bill 41, signed on February 1, 2023. According to the state’s program summary, it provides $100 million in low-interest loans and $100 million in grants, and it pays only for public infrastructure such as streets, water, sewer and storm sewer, not for buildings themselves. The award list published by South Dakota Housing shows one Brookings award as of February 2024: $1,688,695 in grant funds to Branch Creek LLC.
For owners of existing buildings, these tools matter because they lower the cost of building new units. A developer whose streets and utilities are partly financed by TIF or state grants can deliver units at rents that compete directly with older properties.
Brookings apartment construction and the demand it is chasing
South Dakota State University
SDSU is the largest single source of rental demand in the city. The university reported a fall 2025 headcount of 12,139, up from 12,065 the year before and its highest since 2017, with a freshman class of 2,276. Reporting on fall 2026 put enrollment near 12,000 for a third straight year, with more than 2,250 freshmen.
According to SDSU’s housing information, the university has approximately 4,400 on-campus beds and says demand exceeds available space. Its Southeast University Neighborhood apartments, with 45 units, are limited to juniors, seniors and graduate students. Simple arithmetic shows the scale of the gap: a fall 2025 headcount of 12,139 against roughly 4,400 campus beds leaves about 7,700 students who live off campus, commute from elsewhere or study online. Not all of them rent in Brookings, but many do, and that is the pool Latitude 44 and Paragon are designed to capture. Because many students sign leases months before the fall semester, new buildings near campus can end up competing with existing properties in the same pre-leasing window each spring.
Employers
SDSU lists Daktronics, Bel Brands, Larson Manufacturing, 3M and Twin City Fan among the city’s major employers. In 2023, 3M announced plans to invest up to $468 million in its Brookings health care plant over three years, with a first phase of $158 million and 200,000 square feet expected to add 65 jobs. That plant is now part of Solventum and has its own TIF district, created in 2024. Manufacturing expansions add non-student renters, whose leases are generally less tied to the academic calendar.
Permits
Building permit data from the Census Bureau, compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, show how uneven the pace of construction has been in Brookings County:
- 2016: 253 units authorized
- 2018: 244
- 2020: 144
- 2022: 127
- 2023: 128
- 2024: 208
- 2025: 357
The 2025 figure is the highest in the series over that period. The county-level data include areas outside the city, but the jump is consistent with the large apartment buildings now under construction in Brookings. The dip between 2020 and 2023 also stands out: the current wave follows several years of noticeably slower permitting.
How much housing the city says it needs
A 2022 housing study for Brookings and Brookings County, as described by the SDSU student newspaper, projected a city population of about 27,676 within a decade and a need for an average of 147 housing units a year through 2035. The city’s community development director told the paper that Brookings was close to meeting that goal.
A new study is on the way. The Brookings Regional Growth Alliance issued a request for proposals for an updated city and county housing study, with forecasts of housing gaps at 5, 10 and 15 years. Proposals were due November 12, 2026, with work to begin in January 2027 and final results expected by the end of August 2027. Owners should watch for that report, because it will shape how the city and its partners prioritize future projects, incentives and zoning changes.
Affordability has been a long-running concern
Housing cost pressure in Brookings is not new. A Brookings affordable housing task force report from roughly a decade ago, as covered by the Brookings Register, found that 54% of renters were spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That figure is dated, but it helps explain why the city has leaned so heavily on TIF districts for workforce lots and affordable units, and why the City Council supported the 132-unit project’s application for state assistance.
How owners can track new projects
Most of the projects described here passed through public steps before construction began, which gives owners of existing buildings early warning. In Brookings, the signals to watch include:
- City Council resolutions supporting applications to South Dakota Housing, like the January 2026 vote on the 132-unit complex.
- TIF district creations and development agreements, which the council votes on and the Department of Revenue later reports.
- Rezonings to R-3 or R-3A and conditional use permits for apartments in R-2.
- Demolition and building permits on sites near campus and along the Sixth Street corridor.
Following those steps means a new building rarely arrives as a surprise. An owner who knows that a 100-unit project is two years out can plan renovations, lease terms and pricing well ahead of it.
What the pipeline means for existing buildings
New supply rarely affects every building the same way. In Brookings, the effects are likely to sort out along a few lines:
- Older properties near campus face the most direct competition. About 200 new units within three blocks of SDSU will compete for the same upperclassmen and graduate students as older walk-ups and small complexes nearby. Owners should be prepared for lease-up concessions and amenity comparisons in the first year after delivery.
- Rent levels set the competitive gap. With the city’s median gross rent at $889 for 2020–2024 and the planned 132-unit complex targeting $1,431 to $2,044, older buildings will often compete on price rather than finishes.
- Non-student renters are a stabilizer. Buildings that serve employees of Daktronics, Solventum, Larson and other major employers are less exposed to student-oriented supply near campus.
- Ownership options add turnover. Projects like Branch Creek create a path from renting to owning, which can raise turnover among long-term tenants.
- The next housing study matters. If the 2027 update shows the city has met or exceeded its needs, future incentives may slow; if it finds a gap, more subsidized supply is likely.
Owners can use those factors to test their own rent rolls. A building whose occupancy depends mostly on SDSU students within walking distance should plan for a more competitive leasing season once Latitude 44 and Paragon fill, while a building serving employees across town may see little change. Investors who participate in apartment ownership passively can find background in an overview of how passive multifamily investing works.
Brookings within the South Dakota market
Brookings is smaller than Sioux Falls or Rapid City, but its combination of a large university, a manufacturing base and active use of TIF gives its housing market a distinct profile within the state. The South Dakota market overview puts Brookings alongside the state’s other cities.
For owners weighing the next step for a specific building, including those exploring selling an apartment building in Brookings, the most useful preparation is a clear picture of the tenant mix, how close the property sits to the new campus-area buildings and how its rents compare with both the city median and the new projects. Those are the questions that will define how Brookings apartments perform as the current wave of construction is absorbed.
