Public sees latest on downtown Sioux Falls' plan for 2035

Trevor J. Mitchell, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·2 min read
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The work to plan what downtown Sioux Falls should look like more than a decade from now continued Thursday night, as members of the public weighed in on what they thought were the most crucial needs for the city's core.

More: Sioux Falls prepares to sketch out downtown's next decade

Work on the 2035 Downtown Plan began in earnest earlier this year, even as the city's previous 10-year plan continues to guide growth and development within the area.

Pedestrians walk down Phillips Avenue on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in downtown Sioux Falls.
Pedestrians walk down Phillips Avenue on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in downtown Sioux Falls.

And things have changed since then, said Leland Consulting Group's Ted Kamp as he presented a market analysis of downtown Sioux Falls.

While about 3,700 people live in the downtown area, nearly 18,000 work there. And the overlap there is slim, with fewer than 700 people both living and working downtown, Kamp said.

But like many other mid-sized cities, Kamp said Sioux Falls residents are showing more interest in living downtown, with the analysis showing that the area could see demand for "roughly 1,000 to 1,600 more multifamily units over the coming decade."

Kamp also noted four sites in the area with "significant redevelopment potential" that needed further analysis — the Wells Fargo Bank property, the Mall Avenue parking ramp, the railyard property and the city's Department of Social Services building.

More: City will begin reviewing proposals for leasing, buying Sioux Falls parking ramp in 2023

The city is in the midst of work on the parking ramp project, and the railyard remains on sale by the city, but it was the Department of Social Services building that Kamp specifically made a note of.

He called the space located at 811 E. 10th Street "underutilized," and said the work done there was "portable." The area could potentially be used for a venue, whether entertainment or sports, he said. And at least among the 20 or so attendees at the meeting, interest in a stadium downtown was high.

Two things that won't be part of the plan? Smithfield Foods and the South Dakota State Penitentiary. Kamp noted they weren't exactly traditional downtown uses, but joked that they were something for the city's 2045 Downtown Plan — if even then.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Public sees latest on downtown Sioux Falls' plan for 2035