Banks partner for $16 million in financing for Foundation Park

From staff reports

Eight Sioux Falls banks have come together to create a $16 million financing package to help get land ready for new businesses at Foundation Park in northwest Sioux Falls.

The consortium of banks includes First Premier Bank, The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, CorTrust Bank, First Bank & Trust, First Dakota National Bank, Great Western Bank, MetaBank and U.S. Bank, with each bank holding a $2 million share.

Bankers came together April 18 to offer financing to Foundation Park.

“This financing package allows us to react to infrastructure needs required by our prospects,” said Slater Barr, president of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation. “With the unique size and scope of Foundation Park, it’s not feasible to make every site in the 820-acre park completely build-ready. But with the participation of the banking consortium, we can move fast to add streets, water, sewer — even rail connections — to meet the needs of any company that is ready to build on a Foundation Park site.”

Dave Rozenboom, president of First Premier Bank and a Forward Sioux Falls campaign co-chair, helped to organize local bankers to invest in the economic promise of Foundation Park. With several large-scale projects currently in play that could use a Foundation Park location, Rozenboom said he knew that the time was right to make the infrastructure funding available.

“The entire business community is aware of the impact Foundation Park will have on our future — especially the financial institutions that are so much a part of the growth of Sioux Falls,” Rozenboom said. “Our local bankers were eager to participate in a fund that will not only help the Development Foundation close deals, but also provide the patient capital that will be required so that this long-term investment can realize its full potential despite the inevitable ebbs and flows of the economy.“

The businesses exploring the possibility of a Foundation Park location have the potential to impact the South Dakota economy beyond the benefits to Sioux Falls, according to Scott Stern, commissioner of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

“The reason for developing a property like Foundation Park is to draw large-scale projects that will make significant capital investments in our state,” Stern said. “Being able to rapidly build out infrastructure to speed the startup of a new project is a powerful closing tool. The Sioux Falls banks have created a fund that will further drive our state’s growth. I congratulate these financial leaders for their farsighted investment in South Dakota’s future.”

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Banks partner for $16 million in financing for Foundation Park

Eight Sioux Falls banks have come together to create a $16 million financing package to help get land ready for new businesses at Foundation Park in northwest Sioux Falls.

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