Nuns leave lasting legacy in service of Watertown

Throughout their entire adult lives, the women of the Benedictine Sisters of Mother of God Monastery have served others as educators, health care providers and spiritual leaders. The Catholic nuns, many highly educated, have taught and ministered across the U.S. and in foreign countries. They also have played a role in establishing medical and long-term care facilities in several South Dakota cities. For more than 60 years, many of the sisters have lived, prayed and cared for one another at their monastery on 500 acres of hilly prairie land located on the east side of Watertown. And now, as they age into their 70s, 80s and higher, the roughly 30 remaining sisters are continuing their lives of service with a final bold and grand act of ingenuity, grit and compassion. In what will become one of the largest and most diverse developments of its kind in state history, the Benedictine sisters are transforming their land into a multi-faceted housing, education, health care and commercial project that will benefit Watertown and the entire state of South Dakota long after the last nun has passed. The sisters are the lead designers, funders and coordinators of a multi-year effort to remake the monastery site into The Village at Harmony Hill, planned as a multigenerational community where children as young as infants and elders in their final years can live, prosper and celebrate the word of God. Completed, ongoing or future projects at the site, which are aimed at aiding the sisters but which will also be open to the public, include: Up to 700 residences, ranging from affordable apartments and single-family homes to rental units for veterans to assisted-living and memory care spaces for the sisters and the local community A child care center that could eventually house up to 200 children ranging in age from 4 weeks to 4 years old An 80-acre commercial development with room for dining and hospitality businesses as well as light industrial and manufacturing The Challenger Learning Center of South Dakota, a separate nonprofit built in affiliation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, that will promote science and careers in STEM fields and be open to children across the state A town square concept known as The Commons of Harmony Hill, which will transform the original monastery building into a welcome center with meeting rooms, bistro and pub, art gallery and maker's space, and spa and fitness studio Up to 80 acres of green space and a system of trails to encourage community recreation 'For the sisters, this has been about leaving a legacy,' said Michael Klatt, strategic adviser to the Village of Harmony Hill project. 'The average age of this group of sisters who made this decision to be a developer was 86 years old, and they did it.' Klatt said it has been impressive and inspirational to watch and be part of the planning and execution of the project by the Benedictine sisters. 'From a business standpoint, it's been a good investment, but that's not how the sisters look at it. They look at it as, 'How can I give back to the community?'' he said. 'At the grand opening for the senior housing, I made a very, very brief speech,' Klatt recalled. 'I just simply said, 'If you want to get something done, hire a nun.'' As of this summer, the project that began in 2021 has led to renovation of the monastery, conversion of 14,000 square-feet of existing space into a child care center and new construction of affordable apartments. Remodeling of space is underway into housing for veterans and construction of a 62-unit independent senior-living villas, and the project recently broke ground on development of up to 40 of 200 planned affordable single-family homes with room for dozens of affordable duplexes. The Harmony Hill project will help solve the big three challenges vexing all South Dakota communities: a lack of child care, affordable housing and workforce, said Watertown city manager Alan Stager. By adding new day care slots and generating the first new affordable housing in the city in decades, the project will enable Watertown to bring in much-needed workers to fill the many open jobs, he said. 'They could have just let the land sit there, but instead they were looking out decades into the future and asking what's possible,' Stager said. 'And as a result they're building an intergenerational community.' South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, subscribe for free and donate at sdnewswatch.org. Contact content director Bart Pfankuch: 605-937-9398/ bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.