Sioux Falls | Development

[Wolfmanfromsufu]

I was wondering what was planned for that building. It's just been sitting idle.

[sodak]

From KELO-TV

We've just finished celebrating the Fourth. Tomorrow's date will feature a sequence of sevens: 07-07-07. But perhaps the number with the most significance this July is 150,000. That's the estimated population Sioux Falls is expected to reach by month's end.

Perhaps that new family moving in down the street will put Sioux Falls over the 150,000 population benchmark. Assistant Planning Director Jeff Schmitt said, "150's going to be a big change for Sioux Falls."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to zero-in on Sioux Falls' estimated population. The city simply adds up the number of new housing permits for each year and multiplies it by an average of two-point-four people. That amount gets tacked onto the latest official census count. The city fine-tunes the total by factoring in a housing vacancy rate of five-to-ten percent. Federal estimates are lagging behind city hall's projections by about 38-hundred people. But the city stands by its unofficial numbers. Schmitt said, "Last time in the year 2000, we had estimated we had 124,000 people in the city of Sioux Falls that was our estimate and they came out with 123,975, so we were pretty close."

Sioux Falls grows by about 3-thousand people every year. Reaching 150-thousand is as much a psychological lift as it is a numerical accomplishment. "People that move to Sioux Falls will have a different perception of Sioux Falls that want to live in a community of that size, as well as retail people."

City hall isn't ready to predict the exact date we'll hit 150,000. But it will likely happen this month. Just keep counting down the days, and the city will keep counting up the people.

City hall isn't sure yet how to observe the day we hit 150,000 people.

Sioux Falls is expected to reach 200,000 in the year 2020.

[NewDetroit1]

Is there any new news on the uptown project?

[NewDetroit1]

Some crappy pics i took of Sioux Falls today! Just thought i would show the progress on downtown developments!

















[img]

[skate342]

Originally Posted by NewDetroit1

Is there any new news on the uptown project?

sale of land was delayed until july 16th due to drainage issues for the underground parking. photos 9 and 10 are of uptown renovation of Larimer Square. 11 is of the Tristate Creamery.

[Justin_144]

GET SET...
Thanks to a generous donation of land in southeast Sioux Falls, USF has begun to develop a state-of-the art athletic facility. With support from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Sioux Falls Christian Schools, the new facility will be a faith-based community athletic complex where both bodies and spirits can grow strong in Christian love. With their shared faith in Christ, the three entities are working together to reach out to the community like never before.

GO!
As the vision has grown, so has the unique opportunity to become involved. Sanford Health joined the journey in 2005 with a commitment to provide more than 3 million dollars to the project and relocate their sports medicine facilities to the complex.

[Wolfmanfromsufu]

Uptown land transfer OK'd

Solutions for drainage problems proposed
By Jonathan Ellis
jonellis@argusleader.com
Published: July 17, 2007

A team of developers and the city of Sioux Falls have reached an understanding, and a much anticipated downtown development is on.

The City Council on Monday voted to convey a land deed to the developers, paving the way for new construction on the first phase of Uptown at Falls Park. The city purchased the land as part of its redevelopment strategy for the Phillips-to-the-Falls project and now is selling it in three pieces.

The council was scheduled to OK the sale a month ago, but at the last minute, questions about drainage in the area delayed the sale. The Uptown area runs from Phillips to Main avenues and Second to Fifth streets.

Craig Lloyd, president of Lloyd Cos. and an Uptown partner, said Monday that construction on two multistory buildings connected by an archway could begin by March. The buildings would include 108 residential units and 60,000 square feet of office space.

"We're really excited to get started," Lloyd said.

In the meantime, the group is remodeling buildings on Main Avenue. New tenants are expected in the Tri-State Creamery building in August and the Larson Hardware building by November.

To address drainage problems, Uptown partners say they've redesigned their proposed Arches buildings after concerns arose about underground parking garages and potential flooding from rain and snowmelt. The buildings will still have underground parking, but the garages will be smaller, and the entrances will need to be relocated.

The design changes, however, aren't a cure for the drainage problem along Fourth Street near Main and Phillips avenues. Officials say the problem could become more acute as new development outside of the Uptown area proceeds.

Those developments, as well as future phases of the Uptown project, could end up using money from tax increment finance districts to help upgrade the drainage system. Officials say that a new storm sewer line would be needed to move water from the area to the Big Sioux River.

But that option isn't as easy as it sounds. The line would need to pass through Falls Park West, a designated Brownfields site by the Environmental Protection Agency. A new line would need EPA approval because the former industrial site is contaminated, and that could take years, said city planner Erica Beck.

Lloyd noted that the solution won't cost the city's taxpayers.

The Uptown group will pay the city $1 million for the land slated for the Arches building. Half is due at closing, and half in two years.

"We'll still have to go through the closing process, and I don't know when that will be," Beck said.

Some on the council questioned the payment plan, because the preliminary development agreement signed by Mayor Dave Munson and the Uptown partners earlier this year indicated that the money would all be paid at closing.

Mike Cooper, the city's planning and building services director, said the language in the earlier agreement was wrong. There was not intent, Cooper said, to pull an "end-run."

If all three phases of the Uptown project come to pass, it could include 500 residential units and 300,000 square feet of office and commercial space. The early designs also included plans for a 12-story hotel, restaurants and a theater.

Construction would take years, depending on market demands, and could total more than $150 million.

Reach reporter Jonathan Ellis at 605-575-3629.

Things are slowly getting rolling.

[Justin_144]

There's quite a mess in downtown Sioux Falls. Crews have been knocking down the old Acme nightclub. But the rubble relates to progress with a city project. All of the noise associated with the demolition will soon make room for the expansion of one of the quietest places in downtown Sioux Falls.

“What this is going to be is when they're done taking down the old Acme building, this will be a parking lot yet this fall,” Huber said.

The new parking lot will replace spaces that will be built over to expand the Main Library. Tuesday, crews were busy making space for the 18,000 square-foot addition.

“We had to disconnect the electricity, the water, the sewer. All of that had to be capped off. We've been working on this for two months, getting ready for this day,” Huber said.

Galynn Huber with the Sioux Falls Street Department says the city decided to do the demolition with its own crews to save money.

“That thing is just like his arm, he just moves it and can knock stuff down. There's a chunk of wall by that utility role he just moved it and knocked it down, he does a good job,” Huber said.

Huber says it will take two days to tear down the building. Truckload after truckload, it will be hauled to the landfill.
“By the end of next week it should be a flat piece of ground here,” Huber said.

Then, a new surface parking lot will be created, so that next year, renovation of the library can begin. The former Acme nightclub on Main Avenue downtown was originally built in 1917 as a grocery store.

The Library:

[Ex-Ithacan]

Whoa, guess I've slept on this thread way too long. Good stuff for Sioux Falls. Too bad about Frontier, but that could change if the city keeps growing the way it has been. Impressive projects lined up too. I always root for the smaller urban centers, and looks like I'll have to check back here to keep up on the latest stuff. Thanks guys.

[skate342]

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

[Justin_144]

I wonder where they say downtown starts and ends.....

[Strayone]

From what I know Sioux Falls has a metro pop. of 150,000 and metro 223,000, wikipedia info. The hopes for 10,000 residents downtown would equate to some projects that will give it some welcome height. From what I can recall Austin hopes to have 14,000 residents in the DT core by 2010, and 25,000 within a relatively short period of time thereafter. For SF's to be at 10,000 by 2015 is certainly ambitious. That would transform the city's skyline plenty. We have a good amount of residential construction DT including 360 condos which will be the tallest building at 580 ft and we have our fingers crossed that The Austonian at 680 ft will start soon. The hope is that all these people living in the area will promote office construction. With SFs population growth there must be office complexes popping up. Sooner or later the city needs to direct it to the DT . I grew up in NoDak (Wahpeton) so I like to check out the Dakota threads, and hope to see some exciting projects in your future.

[Justin_144]

It's been a part of Sioux Falls from the very beginning. The Big Sioux River winds through all four quarters of the city. And for decades, its flowing water and the area's growing population have quietly co-existed. But now, a push to connect the river's banks to the bustle of the city is slowly transforming the shores of the Big Sioux.

Thousands of people visit Falls Park each year for a chance to experience the area's namesake up close. City leaders in Sioux Falls hope they can create that same excitement along the Big Sioux River throughout the city.

“We're just trying to make it a more user friendly place and actually have people come down to the river instead of turning their backs to it,” Erica Beck with the Sioux Falls Planning Department said.

Beck says, in 2004, city council members voted to adopt a Greenway and Riverfront Master Plan. The document will guide development of the nearly 26 square miles of shore within the city limits. Most of the immediate focus is on redesigning a section of the river, between 6th and 8th Streets downtown.

“Everything we do downtown, streetscapes, reconstruction projects, everything, we want it to be pedestrian oriented and that's what we're trying to do with the river greenway,” Beck said.

The thinking is the development will enhance some of the features already along the river, like the bike trail and many of the city's parks. But the shores of the Big Sioux are not really thought of as a destination right now, like greenways in some other cities.

“That's what we are trying to expand upon, a lot of people don't even know how to access the downtown river at this point and we do have a walkway along here and so we are going to expand on that,” Beck said.

And once people get to the greenway, they'll need something to do. Beck says there will be plenty of places to sit and even more to see.

“What we like to do is add more art, sculpture, maybe bring sculpture walk down here,” she said.

But improving the riverfront involves more than just adding new features. City leaders are also looking at removing things that are no longer pleasing to the eye, like the 8th Street River Parking Ramp, that's been blocking views of the Big Sioux for decades.

“We did identify that as a major priority, to remove that ramp during our 2015 downtown plan,” Beck said.

But before the River Ramp can be destroyed, the city will have to find another place downtown for the about 500 people who park there. They're also planning to remove an old railroad bridge, and replace it with a new walking bridge.

And who can forget the renowned removal of a stubborn downtown eyesore that just wasn't quite ready to leave: the Zip Feed Mill. Jeff Scherschligt is the man behind the big boom that made way for downtown's newest building, and the only one that faces the river.

“We said we were going to do it, and now you are seeing the culmination and I know, there's no turning back,” Scherschligt said.

Scherschligt says the inspiration for Cherapa Place came from talk of an event center being built downtown. He says his building is only the beginning.

“All we're doing is taking all of the ideas that have been peculating in this community for many years, and we are making it happen and setting a tone for what can happen in the future,” Scherschligt said.

That's why he's set aside space inside for a restaurant. “So we have left a major spot, 4,200 square feet, right on the first floor, so we can enjoy the riverfront dining. We have carved that out and we're in the process of looking for the right restaurant environment that people will embrace and see the vision,” he said. “It really is kind of a culmination of what the vision has been for downtown development.”

And what many hope becomes the catalyst for the future growth along the greenway.

If you'd like to read the city's Greenway and Riverfront Master Plan, click here.




Matt Belanger
© 2007 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

Some pictures taken from the link:

[Brian77]

Here are some tid-bits I found recently.


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The first building to be constructed from scratch at Uptown at Falls Park is likely to be seven stories high. Developers have considered various heights, ranging from six stories and up. However, architect Jeff Hazard and others involved in the project said recently that the building is now envisioned to be seven stories high.
The Arches is expected to be constructed on the west side of Phillips Avenue at Fourth Street. It will have residential and commercial space. An archway over the street would connect north and south portions of the structure.
Construction originally was expected to begin this fall but has been pushed back to spring.

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Sioux Falls has attracted a new player in the hotel industry.
A business group based in Wichita, Kan., plans to develop a Value Place hotel near the southeast corner of Interstate 29 and 12th Street.
Value Place, an extended-stay hotel franchise, also is based in Wichita.
Michael Monteferrante, a developer, is the managing partner of VP 1 LLC, which plans to build the Sioux Falls hotel on vacant property near Bierschbach Equipment & Supply on Lyons Avenue.
“Our group is going to continue to develop Value Place hotels. We have an appreciation of the Midwest and want to continue to develop in the Midwest,” says Monteferrante, who is also the chief executive officer of Occidental Management Inc. in Wichita and has relatives in the Sioux Falls area.
VP 1 LLC plans a three-story, 124-room hotel designed for business travelers, temporarily displaced families and others who are attracted to an apartment-like setting.
Amy Ibis of the Graham Organization has been helping the group get through the Sioux Falls regulatory process. Completion of the preliminary work could take a few more weeks, she says.
The Wichita group hopes to begin construction of the hotel in September.
“We hope to be open for business in March of next year,” Monteferrante says.

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Big plan in works
Site2, a land development and design company in Sioux Falls, is in the early stages of planning a building that could significantly enhance the southern downtown area.
Clayton Jamison and Bob Natz of Site2, along with an unidentified third partner, are not releasing details yet, including the exact location. However, Natz says the group envisions a four- to five-story commercial building that could have a long-lasting impact on the city.
“It’s really an exciting project,” Natz says. “It will do a lot to help Sioux Falls and its future growth.”
To this point, Site2 probably is best known for developing upscale housing in southern Sioux Falls.
More details on the downtown project are expected in a matter of weeks.

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An Aug. 28 groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for two hotels coming to Sioux Falls, but construction already is under way.
Courtyard by Marriott and SpringHill Suites by Marriott will replace the former Radisson Encore Hotel, which has been demolished.
The new hotels are projected to open in April or May of 2008.
The construction area is northwest of The Empire Mall, at the southeast corner of I-29 and 41st Street.

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It will be interesting to see what is actually built at the Uptown Project. Hopefully we can get several structures taller than the seven story building planned.

[Justin_144]

Staggers finds ways to save millions of dollars

By Jonathan Ellis
jonellis@argusleader.com
Published: August 6, 2007

At least three city councilors want to change spending in the city's five-year capital improvement plan.

As it stands now, that plan totals $492 million in projects that are scheduled to be completed between 2008 and 2012. The council is set to vote on the plan Aug. 13. The vote will authorize spending for projects next year - which now totals about $125 million - as well as reaffirm the pecking order of projects to be completed between 2009 and 2012.

Each year, the mayor's administration submits a new five-year capital plan. The plans include the mundane, such as new streets, as well as goodies such as new pools and parks.

Councilor Kermit Staggers wants to remove a number of those goodies. Councilors had a deadline of 5 p.m. Tuesday to submit amendments. Staggers put 24 into the hopper. Councilors De Knudson and Bob Litz are proposing one amendment each that would move two projects scheduled later in the plan to next year.

The plan calls for spending more than $581,000 in 2010 and 2011 for energy efficient, easy-to-clean windows at the Washington Pavilion. Knudson's amendment would pay for that project next year.

The city estimates new windows would save $19,000 a year in energy costs.

Knudson, who has been on the council five years, said the project has been put off a number of times. Last year, the council voted to push the project back until 2010 and 2011. Knudson says it's time to get it done.

In some places, windows have been covered by construction material. Replacing the material with windows would restore some of the building's original features.

"I want real windows in the Washington Pavilion," Knudson said. "The building is majestic - it's one of the gems in our city."

Knudson also notes that the Pavilion is a city building, and it should be cared for by taxpayers.

Officials have found extra money to pay for the project next year, Knudson said. Another person on the council has agreed to second her motion on Aug. 13. From there, it will take Knudson and four other votes on the council to win.

"I assume this could be a close vote, but I'm hopeful I can win this," she said.

Litz's amendment deals with a bread-and-butter drainage issue. Residents in the area of West 23rd Street and West Avenue have been flooded during rainstorms, and the problem is getting worse. One cause, Litz said, is that 24-inch and 18-inch drainage pipes along 22nd Street carry water to a 15-inch pipe. Water backs up and ends up flooding nearby homes.

"There's a choke point in there," Litz said.

The project has also been scheduled in the past but put off. Litz said that public works officials have found extra money to begin work next year in redesigning drain inlets. The area could end up with new, wider drainage pipes.

"This is just nuts-and-bolts - it's nothing sexy," he said. "But we've got to take care of these older neighborhoods."

The raft of amendments proposed by Staggers would cut spending in the program by millions. Staggers said new windows for the Pavilion are "a low priority," and he's offering an amendment to scrap the project altogether.

Staggers also wants to eliminate more than $1 million that the city has proposed for an indoor ice rink. The project has been scheduled for 2011 and 2012, and depends in part on private donations.

If people wanted a new ice center, Staggers said, they would have approved it during the 2005 recreation center vote, which included two ice rinks and which failed miserably at the polls.

Other amendments would eliminate more than $120,000 in "fishing access points" and a $186,000 restroom planned for Memorial Park. He also wants to scrap the city's facade program, which pays downtown business owners to refurbish the exteriors of their businesses. That program would spend $750,000 in the next five years.

"The prominent personalities in Sioux Falls have gotten the money," he said.

Staggers always offers amendments to the capital improvement plan, as well as the city's yearly budget. Most don't receive a second from fellow councilors, meaning they're never debated.

Will that happen again this year?

"Ideally, I would get a second on every one of them," he said. "They will have an opportunity to second these if they want to."

Reach reporter Jonathan Ellis at 605-575-3629.

[sodak]

New hotel planned for Sioux Falls
By Megan Myers
memyers@argusleader.com
Published: August 7, 2007
A new hotel is planned for Sioux Falls’ burgeoning southwest side.

Hegg Cos. will build and manage a Hilton Garden Inn hotel near the intersection of South Louise Avenue and Interstate 229, said president Paul Hegg.

The $12 million, four-story hotel will have 85 guest rooms, 15 suites, a restaurant and bar, 3,400 square feet of conference space and a 400-square-foot boardroom.

It will “cater to that business-corporate market,” Hegg said.

Construction is expected to start in April, with completion scheduled for spring 2009.

Hegg also is building two other hotels in Sioux Falls. A 103-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel and an 85-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott are under construction on the footprint of the former Radisson hotel. That hotel, northwest of The Empire Mall, closed last year and recently was demolished.

[Justin_144]

Another hotel on the west side....im not so sure if its needed. It would be nice to see a hotel being built (not proposed) downtown....or even the SE side of town for that matter.

[Wolfmanfromsufu]

I think there is a hotel planned as part of the Galleria development on the east side. There are no specifics other than the fact that there is a spot for a hotel on the site plan. There is rumor of some major commercial development around 57th st and hwy 11 (planned SD100) There is nothing more than speculation about that though.

[Justin_144]

If I remember right they have pulled that hotel from the plans due to the existing neighbors. I think it was taken off due to noise and light pollution near their houses. (I hope im wrong but I think it was a topic during city council a few months back)

[csandste]

Long time lurker, first time poster (forty years out of the state, haven't been back in four) with a question.

In today's Argus was a story about Turner County.

Question:

Can you tell me why the census bureau added two western counties to the Sioux Falls MSA and didn't add Rock and Lyon? It would seem their centers of population are closer to the City. Do people just not cross state lines?

I was also curious as to why Union wasn't added to Sioux City until relatively recently. If I remember correctly, during most of the Gateway glory years, it wasn't counted.

Maybe it's out of sight, out of mind for Washington bury-crats.