Category: Directions Newsletter

Forward Sioux Falls on Track for 2021

Posted on by meganjansick

The 8th Forward Sioux Falls campaign is moving forward with the blessings of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation Board of Directors, the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Joint Venture Management Committee. Board and committee members have given the green light to NCDS to begin the process of raising the necessary funds for our next five-year campaign.

The five-year campaign includes specific funding for the areas of Business Development & Retention, Talent & Workforce Development, Airport and International Trade services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship through the Zeal Center and the Discovery District, and Advocacy and Community Development.

Campaign organizers are forming the leadership structure of the campaign and are looking for leaders to participate in the fundraising efforts. NCDS will begin organizing these leaders into teams who will canvass Sioux Falls businesses for their participation in the campaign set to begin in early 2021.

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Groundbreakings: Sunnycrest Village

Posted on by meganjansick
September 1, 2020

Sunnycrest Village Groundbreaking

Sunnycrest Village broke ground September 1st on a 60-unit addition to their current 223-unit apartment complex. This building will include modern, well-designed one- and two-bedroom apartments with attached garages, two elevators, and six resident lounges for independent seniors. The expected opening date is late 2021/early 2022.

Process Begins to Establish Foundation Park North TIF

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At the City Council meeting on September 15th, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation began the process of establishing a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for Foundation Park North.

The purpose of creating the TIF District is to proactively prepare for growth due to the increased interest being shown in South Dakota and Sioux Falls for economic development projects and shovel-ready land. Several lots have active options on them which is driving increased demand to bring the 450 acres of Foundation Park North on-line with infrastructure build-out.

“We don’t have new tenants or projects to announce at this moment, but we are very excited about the interest Foundation Park is receiving,” president and CEO Bob Mundt said. “There are several active deals underway in the park and no current deals are contingent on tax increment financing.”

The first step to establishing this TIF District is approving the boundaries, which the City Council did at its September 15th meeting. Next, the Planning Commission and City Council will be asked to review a Project Plan for the TIF.

“The Project Plan will detail how the TIF will be utilized to prepare the property for development and to stimulate the general economic health and prosperity of our state,” Director of Business Retention and Expansion Mike Gray said. “Those public meetings are expected to take place over the course of the next few months.”

For additional information on land availability, the TIF process, and the Development Foundation, please call (605) 339-0103.

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Build-Ready Sites

Posted on by meganjansick

Foundation Park was announced in 2015 with a vision of attracting major industries of all sizes. Win Chill, LLC was the anchor tenant that landed in the spring of 2017. That specific land sale triggered necessary infrastructure of roads, rail, water, sewer, utilities, and fiber. In essence, the first phase of Foundation Park was off and running. The key to successful land development is the availability of build-ready sites that provide land parcels of all sizes with all the named infrastructure.

The 80-acre sale to Amazon was crucial in many ways, obviously the large capital investment and creation of 1,000 jobs, in addition the requirement to build out and finish an existing road in the park. The timing of this deal was quite advantageous because it coincided with a planned mass grading project to open more available sites. Ultimately, the Development Foundation was able to blend the grading of the road for the Amazon site with the overall grading plan. Once complete, the Development Foundation will open an additional 200+ acres of graded sites with all the infrastructure to each individual site, resulting in an abundance of build-ready sites.

As much as we desire to have build-ready sites, it certainly comes at a cost. This is the primary reason why we strategically plan our phased development and limit the amount of investment up front

Dean Dziedzic, Vice President of Economic Development

“As much as we desire to have build-ready sites, it certainly comes at a cost. This is the primary reason why we strategically plan our phased development and limit the amount of investment up front,” according to Dean Dziedzic, vice president of economic development. As mentioned, the Amazon sale and planned grading plan timing was perfect. “This large land sale to Amazon also offered the opportunity to apply for federal and state grants to offset some of the overall infrastructure cost”. The Development Foundation was appreciative and extremely fortunate to be awarded an Economic Development Administration, EDA, infrastructure grant of $1.9 million for the completion of Foundation Court. This road completes the loop in Foundation Park and will serve as a primary entrance and exit for Amazon’s truck activity. In addition, the Development Foundation also received a $200,000 Local Infrastructure Improvement Program, LIIP, grant from partners at the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Again, these dollars will be beneficial in offsetting the remaining cost of the build out of Foundation Court.

In just a handful of years Foundation Park has gone from a vision to reality. City, State and Development Foundation leadership made some bold moves by believing and investing in a park that will change the landscape of industrial development for years to come. The ongoing activity and inquiries within Foundation Park is extremely brisk. The Development Foundation remains very confident that new projects will continue to land to help fulfill the organization’s mission of creating good paying jobs and strong economic development for the city, region, and state.

Buildings & Sites

Career Connections Program Gets a Big Lift from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation

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The Sioux Falls Development Foundation was awarded a grant from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation to help fund the Career Connection program launching this August. This talent development initiative is targeted to help incoming high school juniors and seniors in the Sioux Falls School District that are first-generation Americans, low-income, or otherwise under-represented.

Career Connections is launching in 2020 as part of the Development Foundation’s K-12 programming initiatives, which are supported by the Forward Sioux Falls Strategic Workforce Action Agenda. Career Connections is designed to address the shortage of skilled labor within the community by focusing on developing early career talent within our K-12 system with programming that includes business mentoring, early career exposure through a series of job shadowing experiences, and alignment of post-secondary curriculum to educate and equip these students with the skills that businesses need them to have.

We have tremendous support surrounding these 60 students involved in this first year and they will just be paving the way for many others to follow over the next five years

Denise Guzzetta, Vice President of Talent & Workforce Development

Considering the Sioux Falls School District has 600 seniors graduating annually from our public schools who don’t pursue any form of post-secondary education, the Development Foundation is committed to reducing this number by focusing on a group of 60 highly motivated students for the Career Connections’ inaugural year. First, the program will connect students with employers who will help students to determine the right pathway for them into the workplace. Then, the Career Connections program will assist students in pursuing some form of post-secondary education, such as a certificate program, a technical degree, or an associates’ or bachelor’s degree from one of the South Dakota’s Board of Regents schools.

“We have tremendous support surrounding these 60 students involved in this first year and they will just be paving the way for many others to follow over the next five years,” says Denise Guzzetta. “The community support and business engagement within Sioux Falls continues to drive our local economy and opportunities for everyone forward.”

The Career Connection program launches this August.

K-12 Programs

South Dakota is Open for Business

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During these difficult times of the Covid pandemic the business community has been forced to adapt and possibly change their approach. In the world of economic development that is no different. Our recruitment and attraction activities, and business retention and expansion projects, have been altered both in budget and execution. Governor Noem and Mayor Ten Haken have done an outstanding job managing the crisis, keeping people safe, and the city and state open for business. This has not gone unnoticed in the national media. Governor Noem received high marks and accolades from many outlets on her handling of the pandemic.

In normal times we would use budgeted dollars on marketing missions reaching out to site selection consultants in person to promote and sell the city, region, and state. Like most, we shifted our approach and adopted a virtual advertising campaign. We felt it necessary to leverage the good news and distribute the message electronically in a monthly e-postcard. Sioux Falls and the state receive plenty of accolades that need to be promoted. In addition, we must always tout our affordable cost of doing business and pro-business climate. This campaign will continue to promote and attract new potential opportunities for development.

Trade shows and conferences were another area where we were forced to pivot and identify viable marketing opportunities. For many years, the Development Foundation conducted a radio campaign airing in the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota. Strategically, we felt it was a perfect time to resume radio ads, offering Minnesota business owners a distinct alternative — lower taxes and less red tape with a South Dakota location. The radio ads began airing the week of July 6th and will run for the next three months.

March Offers Up Brisk Land Sale Activity

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The Sioux Falls Development Foundation experienced one of their most active months in land sales, with three individual projects in three different parks. Even though each sale had been in the works for quite some time, it was reassuring that each deal closed on time as planned.

Nordica Warehouses, Inc. exercised their option and acquired an additional 12 acres in Foundation Park. Nordica started building in Foundation Park last year with a 200,000 square foot warehouse. Before completing that first phase they pulled the trigger on Phase II, which represented an additional 105,000 square foot expansion.

The big draw to that site was that they were looking to take advantage of rail services; being able to have BNSF deliver product to their warehouse on a larger scale basis

Dean Dziedzic, Vice President of Economic Development

“The big draw to that site was that they were looking to take advantage of rail services; being able to have BNSF deliver product to their warehouse on a larger scale basis,” said Dean Dziedzic, vice president for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

Plans for the new 12-acre site to the west is for 200,000 additional square feet, with the capability for further expansion in the future. Phase III construction is slated to begin this summer.

The second land sale included 39 acres of commercial (C-4) land in Campus Crossing near the northwest Wal-Mart. This property was originally zoned light Industrial (I-1) prior to the I-29 Marion Exit being constructed. The City determined the proper zoning for this land to be commercial. The Sioux Falls Development Foundation sold land to Wal-Mart in 2011 and subsequently two surrounding out-lots.

The Development Foundation’s Real Estate Committee recently made the decision to focus more attention on industrial development and the creation of primary jobs. This decision allowed the Foundation to market and list a 32-acre parcel and the two remaining out-lots in a bulk sale. A group of investors acquired the three parcels and will begin master planning for buildout and development.

The third sale in March took place in Sioux Empire Development Park (SEDP) VIII West, at the corner of I-229 & Benson. This represented a 21.74-acre land sale. This parcel was undeveloped and sold without any existing infrastructure. The Real Estate Committee made the decision to move forward with selling this entire parcel, mostly because it represented a challenge for industrial development with the access options and the topography of the land. The dollars from this sale will assist in developing and marketing land in SEDP VIII along I-229.

The activity and land sales in March provided a great deal of support to the bottom line and operations. As mentioned, these projects were in the works for quite some time leading up to their ultimate closing. It offers a great reminder why attraction and recruitment need to happen around the calendar; we never know when our economy will take a turn. Even with the current situation we remain optimistic with potential land sales. Some projects have taken a pause to reassess; but overall, we’re optimistic, and committed to working each project on their own timeline.