New ventures begin investing in Whittier neighborhood

The Whittier neighborhood now has two new tenants: a nonprofit and a yoga studio.

The Joy Collective Yoga Studio, 921 E. Eighth St., is owned by Sara Lindemulder.

She said the studio will fill a niche in town.

“It will be one of the only exclusively yoga-focused spaces in Sioux Falls,” Lindemulder said. “We have a lot of gym and yoga, cycling and yoga, and other great opportunities but not something exclusively yoga.”

Lindemulder has taught yoga in the community for several years and focuses on “building heat from the inside out,” in her alignment-based practice.

“Yoga is a far more diverse practice than a 60-minute yoga class,” Lindemulder said. “It’s a rich lineage that includes breathwork and mantra and meditation and service and social justice. I’m excited to offer a space that focuses on that.”

She has a background in social work and noted that some people work through things in their life through channels that include yoga. “We are now understanding how complex the mind-body connection is,” she said.

The studio will have a grand opening March 25.

For Lindemulder, opening the studio in the Whittier area fulfills her personal principles. She bought a house in the neighborhood last year and wants to be connected to the area.

“I love that you see the people you live and work with,” Lindemulder said. “I’m looking for ways to walk places and have my world feel connected.”

She calls it the village mentality, and that’s one reason it makes sense to combine with space being developed by Jordan Deffenbaugh, which will be in the lower level of the building.

Deffenbaugh is part of the BAM Institute of Civic Biodesign, which received the South Dakota Community Foundation’s Big Ideas Grant for $100,000 to develop the Community Revitalization Collective, or CRC.

Whittier is one of the first focuses for that initiative, and this space will serve as a base of operations. The grant does not allow the funds to be used for the building, so the CRC has launched a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to raise $25,000 for the next two years of rent.

Lindemulder and Deffenbaugh saw the space available and made the decision to combine efforts for the community by renting the top for the yoga studio and the bottom for the CRC.

“The Joy Collective is focusing on the wellness of the self, and our work is on the wellness of the community,” Deffenbaugh said. “They are very much connected.”

The CRC held a series of community potlucks and was approached by Jim Burzynski, who wanted to open a tool library and incubate it in the building. It will join other work being done in what Deffenbaugh calls a sort of community center.

“BAM has always been about collaboration, so naturally we jumped at the idea,” Deffenbaugh said.

Burzynski said his goal is to promote access over ownership. “So many people just need tools for one project,” he said.

With the library, community members can borrow what they need and then return it – removing a barrier to completing projects. The group also will accept tool donations to get the library going. The library will get its start there and then move as the program grows.

Burzynski also hopes to foster community engagement.

That fits with Deffenbaugh’s vision too.

“This summer, we will be deploying incremental projects and hosting 50 potlucks and 10 community forums. In three years, we hope to have collectively raised $1 million to be used by Whittier residents and stakeholders to deploy the projects of their choosing. Think of it as neighborhood participatory budgeting.”

An open house and tool drive is scheduled March 29 at 6 p.m.

Already, the CRC has made connections and progress in the neighborhood, Deffenbaugh said. The first block party fed 900 people, he said. He calls the approach “an Army Corps of Engineers for the neighborhood,” and it includes working with Habitat for Humanity and the Helpline Center.

“There are so many really dynamic needs,” Deffenbaugh said, noting that even exactly which streets form the boundaries of Whittier vary based on who you ask.

The city defines it as 10th Street north to the BNSF Railway line and from Conklin Avenue west to the rail line.

“It’s a huge neighborhood,” Deffenbaugh said, noting the high percentage of homeowners and the high percentage of those who are unhoused. “We want to build up resilience and access to resources.”

Burzynski agrees.

“There is a huge need in the area,” he said. “With the location being so central, it just makes sense for access for all of Sioux Falls.”

The neighborhood already is home to many services, including The Banquet, Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, Union Gospel Mission, St. Francis House, Empower Campus and Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety. And Sioux Falls Thrive recently began offering KidLink community programming at Terry Redlin Elementary. Deffenbaugh said an overlap in community services should be viewed as a good thing.

“Please, duplicate services,” he said, noting not every approach works for every citizen.

Deffenbaugh believes change must begin at the neighborhood level, including economic potential and community connections.

“I love what Thrive is doing,” he said. “I want to see people talking to each other and collaborating and focusing on the things they are good at.”

For Lindemulder, she wants everyone to feel welcome at the Joy Collective.

“I want people to know that anyone can do yoga,” she said. There’s a way for every single person to find a way to connect with themselves and the world around them.”

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