Ho-Chunk Centre getting an update

Renovating the atrium and adding new businesses will give the iconic glass-clad office tower, formerly known as the Terra Centre, a boost.

Ho-Chunk purchased the building, at 600 4th St., in 2012 and took over management of the building in 2014, Janice Jessen, communications director for Ho-Chunk and president of Blue Earth Marketing, said.

“They have some plans for the building that they’ll be unveiling to the tenants in March,” she said. “They’ll be planning on doing some renovations in the building to make it more modern.”

Blue Earth Marketing, a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk, the economic development division of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, opened an office in the center as well.

Blue Earth’s office on the eighth floor of the Ho-Chunk Centre is the second for the firm, which maintains its headquarters across the state border in Winnebago, Neb.

The business works on both regional and national levels with clients in seven states and a smattering of industrial interests including retail, professional services and manufacturing. The firm also serves 35 different companies owned and operated by Ho-Chunk.

Blue Earth was launched in 2004 by Jessen and Patrick Foley, two longtime Sioux City marketing and advertising professionals.

Jessen oversees the firm’s operation and is a marketing consultant for  clients. In 1978 Jessen started a career in radio, later moving to television and several positions within the marketing industry.

Foley, director of agency services, has worked for more than 20 years in the marketing and advertising industry. His career started in broadcast creative services. Later he moved to account management, diversifying his experience further in strategic marketing and advertising.

Ho-Chunk Inc. president and CEO Lance Morgan said in January that the new offices were the smart choice for the expanding business.

“Due to Ho-Chunk’s continued growth, it made sense for our marketing company to open a new office in the Ho-Chunk Centre,” he said. “We’re proud of the national recognition they’ve received and are enthusiastic about this opportunity for Blue Earth to become more involved in the Siouxland community.”

The idea behind the projects, Jessen said, is to refurbish the landmark building, which has fallen by the wayside in recent years.

“The Terra Centre has always been looked at as an iconic building in Sioux City,” she said. “And a lot of interiors have not been renovated.”

Those improvements are in Ho-Chunk's sights this year. The first is the atrium renovation. Further projects are planned to several floors in order to prepare office space for new tenantship.

“They’ll be planning on doing some renovations in the building to make it more modern and updated,” Jessen said.

That's a plus for existing tenants as well as a marketing tool, she said.

“It will also provide the current tenants with more modern and progressive interiors,” she said. “And it should encourage new tenants to join us as we bring the building to the premier building it has been in the past.”

One of those new tenants, the Sweetwater Café, will likely open this spring, “probably in March,” Jessen said.

“It will feature gourmet sandwiches, soups, home-baked rolls and pastries, as well as a variety of coffees and espresso and other specialty coffees,” Jessen said.

The café will provide customers with a relaxing location to get a bite to eat or a place to hold a business meeting.

“It’s going to be designed as either a gathering place as people would like to have coffee or a small meeting,” Jessen said. “But then you’ll also have the ability to pick up sandwiches and go.”

The Sweetwater Café is an excellent opportunity to appeal to those who work within the Centre and attract outside customers.

“We’re trying to accommodate both shoppers,” Jessen said. “It’s going to feature some cool new artwork throughout the restaurant and have a fireplace and television and wireless Internet access for the customers.”

Existing businesses are also working on a new look, perhaps most notably the long-standing Wells Fargo bank.

Wells Fargo has leased offices on both levels of the two-story atrium. The bank recently moved the wealth management and commercial banking sections from the second floor down to the first, accompanying the bank’s teller windows, personal banking and retail mortgage services.

Siouxland Market President Jason Gehling said the renovations, which were completed in July, have been well received by customers and employees alike.

"The customer experience, we're hearing and as was our goal, is much better. All our services are available on one level," he said. "It's actually been great, it's a better use of our space. As a social aspect you run into more employees and a greater variety of employees as well."

The bank secured additional first-floor atrium space that had been vacant since an Arby’s restaurant closed down shop several years ago. The bank’s existing first-floor space was also significantly renovated.

A mural was also painted on the building’s south wall, greeting customers as they enter the bank from the Third Street parking lot. The mural features historical images of Sioux City and Wells Fargo.

While the improvements are finished for the time being, Gehling said the bank is constantly keeping its eyes on the horizon.

"We're always assessing our space and looking at our space and what we have and where we need to make investments and changes," he said. "At this time we don't have anything planned, but there are always thoughts and discussions on where we might go next."