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Census estimates 1,200 people live downtown

About 1,200 people currently live in downtown Sioux Falls, according to census figures the Business Research Bureau revealed at today’s Downtown Development Idea Exchange.

The Idea Exchange brought dozens of local and regional downtown proponents and business owners to the Holiday Inn City Centre to discuss downtown development in Sioux Falls and other cities.

Across the board, businesses are expanding or maintaining their status in Sioux Falls, said Wade Druin of the Business Research Bureau, who helped head the census. Druin said downtown Sioux Falls has an entrepreneurial spirit that is alive and well, which points to a promising future as both downtown and commercial continues to grow.

The census numbers aren’t exact, Druin said, but he’s confident that “we’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s going on downtown.”

City officials have a longterm goal to have 10,000 people living downtown by 2015, said Jeff Schmitt, assistant director of planning for Sioux Falls.

Uptown at Falls Park, a multi-million-dollar commercial and residential project, could bring the city closer to that goal. It could add up to 500 residential units in coming years.

Druin said census officials canvassed the downtown, and used a combination of Internet searches and phone calls to complete the census. Afterward, they walked through downtown to ensure accuracy.

There were 10,689 employees working downtown when the census was conducted from March 5 to June 5. Druin said that’s “a snapshot in time,” not including any future hires or recent layoffs.

Source: ArgusLeader.com