Hyatt Place features wood from Lake Lorraine barn

Wood from an old barn dismantled in late summer 2018 can now be found inside the lobby of the new Hyatt Place Sioux Falls-South, the first hotel to open at Lake Lorraine.

Friessen Development, Inc. worked with Kelly Inns, Inc., the management group of the property, to include the barnwood in the design. Kelly Inns had to receive permission from Hyatt Place to change the design in order to incorporate the barnwood. The hotel design was also adjusted from typical Hyatt Place layouts in order to take advantage of the lake. The barnwood was incorporated prominently in the entryway, with the white exterior wood behind the check-in desk and brown interior wood featured on an accent wall. The history of the development is shared near the barnwood.

The old barn was located on the north end of the development, near where the Hyatt Place now stands. The barn was deemed too unstable to move, so developers opted to take it down and save the wood rather than risking damage by attempting a move.

When the barn was gently dismantled, the goal was to include the wood somewhere on the Lake Lorraine property. Friessen Development, Inc. worked with the company Banking Barns to save the wood. A large portion of the exterior wood was used for the Hyatt project. FDI will continue to seek opportunities to repurpose the remaining wood and pay homage to the homestead that used to sit on the Lake Lorraine site.