Category: Directions Newsletter

Sioux Falls Development Foundation Welcomes Leah Blom

Posted on by leahb

The Sioux Falls Development Foundation is pleased to welcome Leah Blom, who has joined the team as our digital and social media specialist.  She will manage all of the Foundation’s digital and social media marketing efforts, as well as provide marketing support for all of SFDF’s programs and initiatives.  In the spring and summer of 2019, she worked with the Foundation as a social media intern, and is excited to be back in a full-time position.

“I had such an awesome internship experience here, I’ve always wanted to come back,” Blom said. “It’s so fun to be a part of all the exciting things going on economically in Sioux Falls.”

Blom is a native of Pipestone, MN, and is a 2019 graduate of Augustana University.  Previously, she worked at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls as a content strategist and copywriter on the bank’s marketing team.  Aside from her marketing skill set, she loves Sioux Falls, and is looking forward to helping the Foundation continue to make Sioux Falls a great place to live.

“Growing up in a rural area, there were limited options for shopping and entertainment, so my family came to Sioux Falls all the time. Because of that, it became like a second hometown to me, which is what eventually led me to attend college here and move here after school. Organizations like SFDF who invest in improving Sioux Falls are the reason for stories like mine, and I’m excited to help others experience how great our community really is,” Blom said.

President’s Report: Land, Workforce, Housing and Redevelopment

Posted on by leahb

These were among the topics discussed at the Development Foundation’s Annual Board Retreat in May as the Board began to strategically plan for the next five years of the Forward Sioux Falls program and future activities of the Foundation.

Land – As the Foundation continues to sell property in Foundation Park and Park VIII creating new jobs and tax base, leadership has begun to research and explore property that may serve as the next industrial park well into the future.  Finding land with assets similar to Foundation Park will be a challenge and will take the cooperation and support of the City, the State, and the private sector.  The recent passage of the Tax Increment Finance District for Foundation Park North and the ability to develop infrastructure will serve as a catalyst to complete the Park and attract industries to the region.  We will look toward regional solutions as well and work to include neighboring communities in this effort.

Workforce – We hear it loud and clear.  We need more workers.  We need to continue building our workforce from within and recruit talent, filling the talent pipeline with more qualified people.  We will continue to grow programs; strengthening our ties to universities, colleges, tech schools and community colleges to attract new talent to the region.  We will work with our local school districts to engage middle school and high school students in career education, apprenticeships, and internships to keep our talent here.  We will continue to recruit production workers from across the region promoting the excellent quality of life available in the metro area and the quality of jobs available here.

Housing – As we recruit companies and workforce to the region, it is imperative that we also partner with the City, the State and other housing advocates to provide more housing options and affordable solutions.  Supporting state programs and legislative incentives to meet the housing challenges and playing an active role in implementing those solutions should be a part of our efforts.

Redevelopment – As Sioux Falls continues to expand, the City is looking for ways to utilize existing infrastructure and redevelop targeted areas of Sioux Falls with alternative housing choices, upgraded commercial opportunities and less expensive alternatives to development.  Targeted areas of the community can be redeveloped to expand the tax base, provide affordable housing options, and improve access to City services and quality of life amenities.  We believe the Development Foundation can play a role in these efforts and will work with City officials to implement a plan.

As we continue to aggressively implement our plan of action for 2021, we will begin to expand our role and work with multiple partners to assist with these challenges moving forward.  We appreciate the continued support of our members, our investors and our elected officials and will continue to meet the challenges of growth with the collaboration needed to succeed.

Bob Mundt
Story by

Bob Mundt

President/CEO Sioux Falls Development Foundation

Chairman’s Report: Planned Success

Posted on by leahb

While the year started amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions on business operations and our “normal” way of life, the Development Foundation continued to address the needs of the business community with breakthrough workforce development programming, new land sales and targeted marketing to other states and industries.  As we approach the end of our 2021 fiscal year, we have begun to recognize the results of our chosen strategic directions. 

In October of 2020, we announced the sale of 80 acres to Amazon for their new five-story, 3.2 million square foot distribution center promising 1,000 new jobs and a $200 million investment.  Later that quarter we closed on sales to Tessier’s, Inc. and Muth Electric.  In January we announced CJ Foods and the sale of 140 acres in Foundation Park North, promising an additional 1,000 jobs and a $500 million investment.  In June we announced the sale of 37 acres to FedEx for their 350,000 square foot distribution center projected to employ up to 600 people.  Also, in June we closed on the sale of 21 acres in Sioux Empire Development Park 8 to Presidio Manufacturing and Outdoor Gear Manufacturing generating additional jobs and investment.  With these sales, we were able to pay off all our contracts for deeds and the REDI Loan from the State used to purchase Foundation Park in 2015. Retiring these debts marks a tremendous milestone for the Foundation!

Also starting in late 2020, the Development Foundation worked with the City to establish the Foundation Park North Tax Increment Financing District capturing the increase in future property tax revenues generated from recent sales in Foundation Park South to install infrastructure in Foundation Park North.  With the passage of the TIF development plan, the Foundation is now in a position to expedite the buildout of the infrastructure plan for the Park allowing more timely access and sales of land north of the rail line including the CJ Foods project. 

In addition, we were able to step up our efforts in workforce and talent recruitment utilizing electronic programming and recruiting tactics to continue to fill our talent pipeline.  Programs including Talent Draft, Talent Rebound, Career Connections, and WORK Sioux Falls which introduced over 750,000 potential workers to Sioux Falls and our employment opportunities.  Advertising campaigns in several midwestern cities and 300+ post-secondary institutions exposed potential employees to Sioux Falls providing direct connections to employers.

As we plan for 2022, the Board of Directors of the Development Foundation is focused on additional issues that form the big picture of economic development including quality job creation, property tax base expansion, workforce, housing, quality of life and future land development.  Together with our partners, we will meet these challenges and find solutions that will allow continued growth and development.  We look forward to serving you well into the future.

Pat Costello

Pat Costello

Board Chairman

Furniture Mart USA Groundbreaking

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Founded in 1976, Furniture Mart USA has grown from a single location in Sioux Falls to a family of brands with 59 stores in 35 communities across six-states. The groundbreaking ceremony marks construction on a $25 million, 300,000 square foot addition to their distribution center and corporate headquarters in Sioux Falls.  In addition to relocating the existing retail clearance center, the project includes a new 40,000 square foot Furniture Mart and 40,000 square foot Ashley HomeStore with improved customer conveniences.

This family owned and operated business, leads by example supporting the community by providing jobs, 380 in Sioux Falls and 1250+ company-wide,  and through charitable giving. In recent years, the company has provided over $1,000,000 to 70-plus organizations in the region

Augustana University Residence Hall Groundbreaking

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Augustana broke ground on an $50 million housing plan focused on new and enhanced facilities to meet the needs of the growing number of students on campus. 

The largest portion of the plan includes a new residence hall on the south end of Augustana’s north campus near 33rd Street and Grange Avenue. The L-shaped building will be three stories high and house up to 200 students.  The facility will consist of semi-suites with four beds and a bathroom in each unit.  Two of the university’s existing residence halls — Bergsaker and Solberg —will also see upgrades.

The new residence hall, the south courtyard and renovations to Bergsaker Hall are expected to be completed by the fall of 2022. Renovations to Solberg Hall will be finished when students return in fall 2023.

A Transformational TIF

Posted on by meganjansick

The Sioux Falls Development Foundation (SFDF) has worked with the City of Sioux Falls (City) for the past year to establish a Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) at Foundation Park. The TIF will help create 460-acres of shovel-ready industrial land located primarily north of the rail tracks. When the Park was created in 2015, the SFDF partnered with a consortium of banks to establish a line of credit to be able to construct the infrastructure necessary to develop the southern portion of the Park. The SFDF intentionally left the northern portion undeveloped until there was enough demand to justify development.

With the announcement from Amazon, the Foundation Board determined it needed to begin developing the area north of the tracks to be able to accommodate additional large users on non-rail sites. In consultation with the City, the SFDF began the process of establishing TIF District #23, the Foundation Park North TIF.

Essentially, the TIF allows the SFDF to utilize the future growth in property tax revenue from the district for TIF eligible expenses. The process involves establishing the assessed base value of all the property within the district before improvements and an assessed value after infrastructure build-out and private investment. The difference between these two values is referred to as the increment. Companies that build in the district pay 100 percent of their property taxes. These new tax revenues, the increment, are used over time to directly finance the TIF eligible costs within the district.

TIFs are a strategic process to finance large scale developments like Foundation Park North. It will provide the SFDF with developable land to sell, allow us to work with the City over time to install infrastructure, and provide for marketable shovel-ready sites moving forward. By having the infrastructure completed, we will create an ideal situation for additional tenants in the future.

Included in TIF eligible costs are site grading, access roads, sewer and water lines, drainage plans, detention ponds, electrical and gas line extensions, and an economic competitiveness fund to allow for flexibility within the district for future prospect needs. Grading on Foundation Park North could begin as early as this fall; with completion of all infrastructure planned by 2025.

In short, being able to use Tax Increment Financing to introduce 460-acres of shovel-ready industrial land at Foundation Park takes our community to the next level. It allows our community to be competitive in attracting, retaining, and expanding businesses in Sioux Falls. Additionally, it allows the SFDF flexibility when negotiating with companies and planning for future land acquisition.

I commend Mayor TenHaken and Councilors Brekke, Erickson, Jensen, Kiley, Neitzert, Selberg and Soehl; and City leadership for their willingness to partner with the SFDF to support economic development in Sioux Falls. This is an exceptionally busy time for the SFDF. Thank you to Bob, Dean, Denise, Mike, Cory, all the SFDF team, our bank consortium – First PREMIER Bank, CorTrust Bank, First Bank & Trust, First Dakota National Bank, The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, Great Western Bank, MetaBank/Central Bank, and U.S. Bank; and all who help us make things happen. Keep up the good work.

Story by

Pat Costello

Board Chair

Foundation Park: Activity, Activity, Activity

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The momentum at Foundation Park continues as represented by the following activities.

Foundation Court – The second phase of Foundation Court will complete the loop back to Marion Road. The project represents infrastructure of water, sewer, paving and lighting. It also opens the final phases of Foundation Park South with additional build-ready sites. The project is on track to be completed by the end of August this year.

Amazon – If you are anywhere near the northwest part of Sioux Falls, you certainly will see Amazon’s distribution center breaking the skyline. It seems this enormous building is being erected in record time, with several hundred local contractors on site.

Marion Road – Due to the Amazon facility, the City of Sioux Falls is currently making improvements to Marion Road. This will include additional turning lanes and signalization. As Marion continues north, the City is planning more improvements to Marion Road that will extend all the way to 258th Street.

Win Chill – Foundation Park’s anchor tenant continues to grow and expand. Their current expansion will add an additional 125,000 square feet of cold storage warehousing and represents their third phase since breaking ground on 54 acres in May of 2017.

Grading – It seems this is a never-ending task at Foundation Park. If you are out near the Park you will notice continuous grading. The grading will open more land for sale and potentially new tenants soon.

CJ Foods/Schwans – Engineering and site plans for this 700,000 square foot facility on 140 acres continue to move forward. This project will require infrastructure to be installed north of the railroad tracks. In the coming 12-24 months expect to see roads, water, sewer, utilities, fiber and again plenty of grading taking place.

Pipeline – We remain extremely pleased with the level of prospect activity and inquiries received with interest in Foundation Park. We would not be surprised to see more announcements as we enter spring and summer this year.

Become a Member

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As a small non-profit organization, the Foundation relies on the financial support of our member businesses and long-time supporters. From local start-ups to major corporate employers, every dollar of financial support allows us to carry out our mission to create quality economic growth and workforce development in the region.

Development Foundation Members, past and present, are part of a legendary organization that has played a major role in our region’s growth since 1954. Your membership support has made and continues to make an impact on the growth and development of our community now and into the future; and on each and every person that calls our area home.

Member benefits have expanded with opportunities to participate in our workforce attraction and development efforts and programing, access to growth and retention advocates, site location assistance, information resources, and international trade services. Our online membership directory, traditional or virtual groundbreaking ceremonies hosted by your Development Foundation, and invitations to our annual meeting and WIN Summit provide you with additional marketing and networking opportunities.

The Board of Directors would like to thank the business and individuals that have renewed their membership during 2021 – partners in maintaining and renewing our regional economy now and beyond! We encourage other members of our corporate community to consider joining our efforts as we continue to make Sioux Falls one of the best places to work, live and enjoy life.

Join us! Call 339-0103 or email info@siouxfalls.com today. Become a Member. Be a part of the legend and legacy; be a part of our collective future, be a part of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

Spirit of Sioux Falls Scholarship Funds Available

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Application deadline July 1, 2021

Each year the Sioux Falls Development Foundation awards up to four Spirit of Sioux Falls Scholarships. Business students who have completed at least one year of higher education are eligible.

Applicants for this award must live in or maintain residency in Lincoln or Minnehaha County—even though they may attend a school outside the area; or they must attend school in one of these two counties. Applicants must be pursuing a degree in business and be able to demonstrate an understanding of the role of business in American society. Motivation and ability to succeed, academic excellence, and community involvement are also criteria for these four $3,500 scholarships. The deadline is July 1, 2021.

The Spirit of Sioux Falls Scholarships are administered by the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. The scholarship application is available for download on-line through the Community Foundation website.

Application Download

Skilled Labor/Quality of Life Make Smaller Cities Ideal for New Corporate Model

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According to the results of Area Development’s 35th annual Corporate Survey, the availability of skilled labor is still the number-one priority for corporate executives when looking to locate a new facility or expand an existing one. What has, however, increased dramatically in importance over the 35-year course of the survey is quality of life. This may be responsible for many companies choosing smaller cities with a good quality of life for their next location project rather than larger metro areas.

In fact, quality of life considerations, which are so important in attracting skilled labor, rank higher in this year’s Corporate Survey when compared to universally important factors such as labor costs and occupancy and construction costs. The focus on quality of life is likely to continue as companies reimagine their workplaces and seek to cater to a much more mobile workforce. Quality of life and “quality of place” are seen as an indicator of whether a new location will be a match for a company’s existing corporate culture and values.

Of course, cost factors — which only ranked marginally lower than quality of life in the survey — are still of primary importance. This is especially so as the pandemic has forced companies to cut costs to boost their bottom line. They’re looking closely at the tax impacts and incentives opportunities in new geographies, while keeping an eye on realigning their supply chains to prevent the disruptions experienced during the pandemic. This will help to mitigate risks and cut costs by positioning them closer to their end markets.

The Sioux Falls region is ideally positioned to take advantage of these new trends as our communities do an excellent job of building quality of place while controlling other costs of development. With the creation of Foundation Park and the ability to live in the community of your choice, we are finding these new selling points to be in our favor. Keep up the great work everyone.

Talent Attraction Survey 2021 Encourages Greater Support Among South Dakota’s Manufacturers

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In late January, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation conducted a pulse survey involving 322 organizations across six industries and in organizations of different sizes to learn more about recruiting difficulty, skills shortages, and the recruiting and training tactics used in response to these challenges. Central to this survey were answers to questions asked including,

What types of roles and experience levels are the most difficult to fill?

What are the most common strategies and tools organizations are using to deal with recruiting challenges?

What recruiting geographies were the most popular? Are there any parallels between recruiting geographies and time spent recruiting?

Ninety-one percent of organizations shared positive experiences including “Talent attraction programs have helped us understand how better to compete,” and “Denise worked with our talent acquisition people to develop a targeted campaign outside Sioux Falls.”

Financial, health, and technology organizations shared low to moderate recruiting challenges. They identified support needed at the regional and national levels. These organizations also participated the most in the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s talent and workforce programming.

SFDF’s talent programming opens so many doors for us.

Aimee Miritello, Manager of Human Resource at Marmon Energy

General construction and manufacturing industries reported the highest difficulty recruiting experiences. Manufacturers shared they have strong employee retention rates, substantial benefits, and good talent management processes. Most were recruited locally and felt they could support developing talent due to solid internal teams and natural mentoring between new and existing employees.

Based on feedback, SFDF partnered with the Govenor’s Office of Economic Development and South Dakota Manufacturing Technology Solutions on “Talent Attraction and Implementing Workforce Solutions,” a webcast moderated by Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development, to communicate resources available to help manufacturers.

Information about programs, including Career Connections, automation and robotics workshops, and SD Works, were shared with nearly 300 organizations. Discussions about programs, such as Talent Draft Day on September 23, encourage additional conversations with businesses, including Peter Vaillant, VP of Operations at UltiMed, Inc., and Aimee Miritello, Manager of Human Resource at Marmon Energy. Miritello shared positive feedback about current programs, such as Talent Draft Day Webcast 2020, while signing up to partner for the second year of Career Connections in August 2021. “SFDF’s talent programming opens so many doors for us.”

Other companies in attendance included 3M, BAE Systems, Daktronics, Henkel, Malloy Electric, Marmon Energy, MidAmerican Energy Company, Muth Electric, Inc., Orion Land Mark, Raven Industries, Inc., and Sioux Valley Energy. To view this webcast, please visit SFDF’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/developsf/.

Click Here to Watch Our Livestreams

Thank You Existing Industries!

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Existing industries and businesses in the Sioux Falls area provide jobs, support community needs and drive our economy. On March 18th, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation hosted an existing industry appreciation event to say thank you. Attending businesses enjoyed an afternoon of golfing at Great Shots and watching the tip-off of the NCAA basketball tournament. During the event, businesses also had the opportunity to network with our partner organizations from the state and local level that offer services geared towards helping businesses grow and expand in the Sioux Falls area. Thank you for all you do!

Existing Business Services

President’s Report: Forward Sioux Falls Powers Ahead

Posted on by meganjansick
President’s Report

Forward Sioux Falls Powers Ahead

Since its inception in 1987 by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, the Forward Sioux Falls program has provided the mechanism and resources needed to address critical economic development projects in the region. Forward Sioux Falls 2026 continues that brilliant tradition and is off to a great start after the official kickoff last month.

FSF 2026 will continue the strong tradition of providing resources in addressing critical issues facing Sioux Falls and investors are lining up to be a part of the solution. Working from a strong foundation formed by FSF 2021 in developing Foundation Park and conducting the Strategic Workforce Action Agenda, the Development Foundation and the Chamber have designed the next five-year plan to achieve maximum benefit for the region.

Talent Attraction, Retention & Development

  • External Talent Recruitment
  • YPN Marketing, Talent Draft Day, Talent Tours, Talent Rebound, Cyber Recruitment
  • Internal Talent Development
  • Career Connections, Your Future STEM, Internships & Apprenticeships, Special Populations
  • Business Partnerships
  • Recruitment Council, WIN Summit, WIN Engagement Platform, Sioux Falls Thrive
  • Housing Partnership

Business Retention, Expansion & Attraction

  • Existing Industry Retention & Expansion
  • Comprehensive Marketing
  • Existing Industry, Targeted Industries
  • International Trade Programming
  • Foundation Park Support

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

  • Cyber/IT Park
  • USD Discovery District
  • Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship

Business Advocacy, Airport & Quality of Place

  • Innovation Center of Excellence – Leadership, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Advocacy & Policy Development
  • Future Sioux Falls Strategic Plan
  • Airport Marketing

Forward Sioux Falls is now in its public phase and we invite all Sioux Falls businesses to be a part of our future. Please contact Mike Lynch at ForwardSiouxFalls.com or 605-373-2008 to discuss your participation.

Contact Mike Lynch
Bob Mundt
Story by

Bob Mundt

President/CEO, Sioux Falls Development Foundation

Forward Sioux Falls Launches Public Campaign

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The public portion of the Forward Sioux Falls 2026 campaign is well underway, as over 130 volunteers have been assembled to broaden the reach of investors and augment economic and workforce development efforts over the next five years.

Co-chairs Dave Rozenboom (First PREMIER Bank), Dave Flicek (Avera McKennan Hospital and University Center) and Paul Hanson (Sanford Health), as well as Honorary co-chair Mayor Paul TenHaken have assembled a team of 39 community leaders to serve on the campaign cabinet.

A public campaign launch was held on February 23rd at Southeast Technical College, where the co-chairs conveyed both the initiatives that will be extended into the next program, as well as new initiatives that will help elevate the region’s economy.

Funding for the following core initiatives will be extended into Forward Sioux Falls 2026:

  • Talent development, attraction and retention
  • Business attraction, retention and expansion
  • SiouxFalls.com
  • Foundation Park
  • USD Discovery District
  • Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship
  • Sioux Empire Housing Partnership
  • Sioux Falls Thrive
  • YPN
  • Business Advocacy

40-person campaign cabinet

New Forward Sioux Falls 2026 initiatives include:

A Housing Fund will involve a partnership among the City of Sioux Falls, Sioux Empire Housing Partnership (SEHP), US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and others to create a fund and provide resources to address our workforce accessible housing needs.

Partnering with local businesses from a variety of industry sectors, Career Connections will provide high-potential at-risk high school juniors and seniors with a career exploration and mentorship opportunity and financial assistance for concurrent dual-credit course work to help them begin their post-secondary education and career journey.

Support for REACH to expand their workplace literacy program.

Partnering with Dakota State University, local tech companies and the City of Sioux Falls, Forward Sioux Falls will provide seed funding to create a visionary Cyber/IT Park in Sioux Falls.

The Innovation Center of Excellence, housed within the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber, will provide an opportunity for the public and private sectors to partner, collaborate and deliver innovative programming focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Center will also support Next Level Leadership Academy, New Ideas, Think Tank, and others.

Funding for our next “Future Sioux Falls” Strategic Plan, a community-wide long-range vision and strategic planning process.

The campaign is scheduled to run through June and to date, over $10.4 million of the $15 million cash goal has been raised.

For More Campaign Information, Click Here

Sioux Metro Growth Alliance Hires Ryan Solberg, Launches New Service

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The Board of Directors for Lincoln and Minnehaha County Economic Development Associations (LCEDA/MCEDA) approved a new service at their March board meeting. Starting in May, investor communities will be able to contract with the newly consolidated Sioux Metro Growth Alliance (SMGA) for economic development management services. This new service is designed to compliment the existing support offered by the SMGA and is available for an additional fee for investor communities.

How does this service work? An investor community economic development organization would contract with the SMGA to offer direct economic development management support. The SMGA would offer an economic development specialist to execute a pre-determined scope of services for the contracting entity. The contracting entity (economic development organization) would provide office space in their community for 10-20 hours per week and the SMGA would receive a management fee.

To provide this service, Ryan Solberg will be joining the SMGA as the Economic Development Specialist. As a Mitchell, SD native and Augustana University graduate, Solberg brings unique perspective thanks to past experience in the Planning and Development Services department at the City of Sioux Falls. Solberg most recently worked as a Loan Administrator at Builder Finance in Sioux Falls. The Lennox Area Development Corporation (LADC) has enlisted the SMGA in providing economic development management services. Solberg will work closely with the LADC to help them achieve their organizational goals and execute their economic development strategy.

If your economic development organization is interested in further assistance, contact Jesse Fonkert at jessef@siouxmetro.com for more information about this new, innovative service.