History
Moriarty Apartments and Moriarty Enterprises, Inc. is a prominent Brookings lifetime family business. It has provided housing in Brookings, as well as commercial and industrial development in Brookings and nearly 20 other communities. Throughout the years, Moriarty’s developments have resulted in locations for many businesses – creating jobs for numerous families, as well as housing.
Paul E. Moriarty, an SDSU Civil Engineering graduate, began building homes in Brookings in 1957 after returning from military service.
The business has grown to include:
- subsidized housing apartments
- luxurious apartments
- student housing apartment rentals
- Westview Mobile home park
- commercial and industrial buildings
- City Plaza, Brookings first mall
Paul was born and raised in Brookings. Paul’s parents were John J. and Cecelia Moriarty. His father was a railroad mail clerk for 37 years, while his mother operated their family restaurant on Main Street in Brookings.
In 1979, Moriarty Construction built the first subsidized elderly apartment building in South Dakota. In addition to building homes and developing lots for new homes, Paul has provided land for commercial and industrial development for churches, schools, apartments, elderly and family housing, retail business and Moriarty Park. Also, Moriarty has commercial office space in a number of other communities.
Moriarty Enterprises supervises the business as well as managing all their own apartment rentals while providing services and maintenance for their properties.
Paul has witnessed much growth in the city of Brookings and SDSU, helping to provide a healthy atmosphere for people to live, find work, raise families and securing an education. The Moriarty business family feels fortunate to have a role in the city’s progress. It is a wonderful community in which to be in business and create a future for so many.
