Growth incentives matter to Sioux Falls and all of South Dakota

By: Scott Lawrence

This column was originally published in the Dakota Scout.

Economic development organizations like the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation focus largely on creating opportunities for job growth, business success and expansion of the tax base of the region. They create opportunities for companies already in the region and those wanting to establish a presence here for the purpose of creating quality jobs and expanding our property and sales tax base.

These organizations acquire land, build infrastructure, prepare industrial sites, provide pro-business advocacy and business development opportunities, so that when companies are ready to invest, our community is ready to compete. They create an environment that welcomes expansion and new development for the greater good of the region.

Foundation Park represents the achievement of that mission. It began development in 2016 thanks to the foresight of our community’s leaders. The forward thinking they displayed wouldn’t have progressed beyond the planning stage without availability of tools of economic development like the REDI Loan Fund, the Governor’s Future Fund, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and several other incentives along with private sector investments and a creative consortium of banks who joined together to make this vision a reality.

Several local projects including Amazon, Fed Ex, Scherer, Inc., Presidio Components, CJ Schwan’s bibigo Asian food plant and a host of other projects in and around Sioux Falls have leveraged these incentives and are exactly the kind of outcome we have been working toward for years – and it happened the right way.

While local incentives are limited and the Development Foundation does not offer specific incentives, they offer land, site preparation, planning and zoning assistance, and build ready sites to expedite development and construction. They invest in these sites long before a company ever expresses interest. These projects are the result of that preparation paying off.

Recent assaults on South Dakota’s economic incentive programs undercut all the progress our city and state have made over the years. These programs work. They are transparent and ethical – and most certainly were in securing these projects. They are vital for South Dakota to compete with neighboring states vying for the same opportunities. And they are absolutely necessary to capitalize on forward-thinking investments like Foundation Park.

Looking at the big picture for our community, endeavors like our latest Foundation Park project, CJ Schwan’s, and others will transform lives. The nearly 5,000 jobs provided by Foundation Park companies support hundreds of families and offer economic stability, health insurance and a strong future. It means young people can stay here instead of moving away for work. It means local suppliers and contractors will grow alongside the plant.

Industrial parks are community assets. When they succeed, the benefits ripple outward — to schools, hospitals, retailers, and neighborhoods. That is why our Chamber and the Development Foundation reinvests their proceeds back into infrastructure and workforce readiness, not profit.

Economic development always invites debate, and it should. But debate should be rooted in facts. Suggesting impropriety where it does not exist risks undermining the very tools communities need to compete.

These businesses did not come here by accident. They came because this community planned responsibly, followed the rules and made itself ready.

That is something we should stand behind – with confidence and pride.

Scott Lawrence is CEO Emeritus of Lawrence & Schiller. A passionate community leader in Sioux Falls, he serves on boards including the South Dakota State Chamber, Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, National Music Museum and South Dakota Symphony.