Sept. 4, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.

When leaders at Pathward convene in Sioux Falls for recurring meetings, they typically head to the fintech company’s corporate headquarters on the city’s south side.

Recently, though, they leveraged downtown meeting space at Startup Sioux Falls, just steps from their hotel, and enjoyed quality-of-life amenities not available farther out when they were ready for a break.

“We enjoyed the convenience of the downtown area, with great restaurants and beautiful scenery with the nearby Falls and walking path,” said Catherine McGlown, senior vice president of communications, sustainability and public policy.

They also were able to give back downtown, assisting guests at the St. Francis House with updating and fine-tuning their resumes.

“We’ve already heard from one participant who landed a job with her new resume,” McGlown said.

“Pathward’s Community Impact Program helps power economic mobility for underserved and underrepresented populations across the country, including Sioux Falls. We build partnerships with organizations like St. Francis House that provide resources for unbanked, underbanked and historically marginalized communities.”

While it can be easy to think of a strong downtown benefiting those who regularly live, work and visit there, Pathward’s experience is one example of how much broader the impact can be.

“Downtown Sioux Falls is our city’s brand,” said Vernon Brown, co-owner of The Spice & Tea Exchange downtown and a member of the Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. board of directors.

“It’s what City Hall, Experience Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and the state of South Dakota highlight when they market our community and region.”

The data demonstrates measurable impact too. For instance, downtown accounts for 17,000 jobs across more than 800 businesses.

It also generates 10 times more property tax per acre than the citywide average. Here’s what that looks like on a map:

Downtown’s residential population also has grown to more than 4,000 people who regularly patronize area small businesses, giving them the foundation they need to be sustainable beyond daytime or visitor traffic.

“When Tami and I began exploring the opening of our store, The Spice & Tea Exchange, downtown was the only place we could imagine,” Brown said.

“It offered the foot traffic, the independent character and the experiential feel that makes people slow down and wander — not just rush in for a transaction.”

While his wife runs the store, Brown’s full-time career involves constantly introducing others to the community. He serves as associate vice president for external affairs at SDSU.

“Personally and professionally, when people want to show off Sioux Falls, they take visitors downtown. Me included. It’s our community’s living room, a place where we welcome guests,” he said.

Those guests are drawn to Sioux Falls in large part because of the downtown area, said Teri Schmidt, executive director of Experience Sioux Falls. It’s also where 75 percent of the city’s hotel rooms are located.

“Downtown is the heart of what we sell because it is the heart of the city,” she said. “Meeting and event planners want to know where the action is, and I’m talking about action people can walk to, can eat at, can shop at, can sit and enjoy, and our downtown is just that. Other parts of the city are very important as well because people can experience things and they’re valuable to the big picture, but when you’re with a planner, you focus on what drives your city and what will make the event successful, and downtown is where it’s at.”

The DTSF organization reduces pressure on city services by directly managing core operations such as the ambassador program, seasonal flowers, graffiti removal, trash service and support for homeless outreach.

Event planners typically “are blown away by our downtown,” Schmidt added. “They’re amazed by what’s been done with the flowers, the ambassadors on the street, which creates a safe feeling, the retailers, the food quality and the walkability.”

The momentum is felt by young people and their families too. For Augustana University, “the investments in downtown give the cool vibe, it gives energy, and students feel it,” President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin said.

“Parents look forward to visiting and not just spending time with students but in the community and with the friends they’re making. In our most recent recruitment video, we show students on the lawn at the Levitt. When students stay in Sioux Falls for internships, some of them live and work downtown and gather together there, and there is a sense of vitality.”

For a company like Pathward, the impact can be significant too. It doesn’t require a downtown office address to benefit from the strength of the city’s center.

“For us, it’s home. Pathward has had a presence in Sioux Falls for nearly 25 years,” McGlown said. “It’s home to our headquarters, and we want to see the community thrive.”

A lot has changed for the better in that time, Brown added.

When he arrived in Sioux Falls as a television reporter in 1991, he earned the nickname “Downtown Vernon Brown” for how he enjoyed covering stories, but “back then, you couldn’t even buy a greeting card downtown,” he said.

“Look at what we’ve preserved and built. Our historic areas are charming, and the new private investments are boldly metropolitan. We can’t take that for granted. Downtown’s success has always been deliberate, and it must remain so. Dollar for dollar, no other place in the city — or the state — delivers a stronger return on investment for taxpayers, business owners or our quality of life.”

Research also underscores the broader value for communities that invest in dense downtown development. Learn more below: