Sioux Falls business owner Chuck Brennan has pledged to fund a $3 million project to create a unique musical program for kids in the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire.
Brennan, the majority owner of Dollar Loan Center, said he will raise the funds to create the Brennan Rock & Roll Academy at 900 W. 11th St.
The 6,000-square-foot building will include lesson space, performance areas and a production studio.
I pledged to put the funding together for it myself, Brennan said. We hope we get some donations to alleviate a little of that pressure, but I’ve told them we’re taking care of all the build out, all the renovation, all the instruments and I’m paying the rent for a 20-year period.
He is making an initial gift of $100,000.
Brennan grew up less than one mile from the Historic Loop Plaza he owns with partner Keith Bergh.
He decided to offer the space to the Boys and Girls Club after learning there was no music program.
I was a Boys and Girls Club kid growing up in Sioux Falls, he said.
Brennan also has a passion for music and has promoted and worked with a large spectrum of internationally-known bands.
The new Brennan Rock & Roll Academy also will help connect central Sioux Falls with the Boys and Girls Club’s east side location at 700 S. Sneve Ave. through a new bus shuttle.
Regardless if they’re taking a lesson or not they can come by, grab a snack, hop on the shuttle and hang out at the Boys and Girls Club on the east side, Brennan said. So it’s closing a major gap, because they’ve wanted something on this side of town for a long time.
He hopes the academy will open next spring.
A groundbreaking is scheduled next week, and Brennan said he has invited some of his contacts in this music industry.
I’m guessing we’ll have a couple Rock and Roll Hall of Famers there, he said.
The area also is the Dollar Loan Center corporate headquarters, and there is a 15,000-square-foot building available for lease.
Brennan recently built a large sign there, accented by a waterfall and welcoming people to the Pettigrew Heights neighborhood.