Our Story
About Pass Creek
How one founder turned 15 acres in the Black Hills into the physical foundation for 13 companies — and a new model for rural innovation.
Built, Not Planned
Pass Creek Holdings is not a pitch deck. It is a campus. Founder Luke Alvarez started acquiring and building on this 15-acre property in 2020. Over five years, he invested $2.6M+ of personal capital — constructing buildings, running fiber, building out a broadcast studio, launching a cafe, and creating the infrastructure that 13 companies now call home.
The campus sits at the gateway to Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota — a region that draws 14.9 million visitors annually, charges zero state income tax, and offers a cost of living fraction of any coastal city.
Luke's background includes enterprise SaaS (Instructure/Canvas LMS — 0 to 3,000 institutions, IPO at $1.5B), AI operations (51 staff producing output of 255 using AI swarms), and a lifelong connection to the Black Hills region.
The Vision
Pass Creek exists to prove that world-class companies can be built in rural America. Not as remote offices for coastal companies, but as headquarters — real operations in real communities, creating real economic impact.
Physical Foundation
Every BHC entity needs space. Pass Creek provides it — from GrowWise's engineering floor to THE BARN's broadcast stage to Seed Academy's classrooms.
Innovation Hub
Grow Campus coworking attracts remote workers and entrepreneurs. The accelerator feeds startups into Auric Labs. THE CULT convention brings the ecosystem together annually.
Flywheel Anchor
Settle the West relocations need housing (Phase 2). Their kids need school (Seed Academy). They need coffee (THE OP). They need community (events). Pass Creek provides all of it.
Campus Timeline
Five years of building, one year of formalization.
2020
Land Acquisition
Luke acquires the original 15-acre parcel in Custer, SD at the gateway to Custer State Park.
2021
First Builds
Main building construction begins. Infrastructure — power, water, fiber — laid across the property.
2022
THE BARN
THE BARN broadcast studio built out for Outpost Media's 9-channel network.
2023
Campus Operations
GrowWise HQ moves in. Seed Academy runs first cohort. THE OP cafe opens.
2024
Grow Campus Launch
Coworking space opens. First accelerator cohort begins. Campus reaches operational maturity.
2025
BHC Formation
Black Hills Consortium formalizes as 501(c)(6). All 13 entities operating from campus. $52M raise begins.
The BHC Ecosystem
13 entities operating from one campus. Every entity reinforces the others.
Location
Custer, South Dakota
Custer is the gateway to Custer State Park — 71,000 acres of wilderness that draws over 2 million visitors annually. Mount Rushmore is 20 minutes away. The town has a thriving Main Street, a growing arts scene, and a cost of living that makes coastal cities look absurd.
- 0% state income tax (personal + corporate)
- 14.9M annual visitors to the region
- Gateway to Custer State Park (71,000 acres)
- 20 minutes to Mount Rushmore
- Growing remote worker community
- Fraction of coastal cost of living
Come See It For Yourself
Schedule a campus tour or explore coworking options.