Jan. 16, 2020

LifeScape plans to build a hospital, school and rehabilitation center as part of a $62 million campus at the USD Discovery District.

The nonprofit plans to lease nearly 32 acres at the district, which is located on 111 acres in northwest Sioux Falls adjacent to the Community College for Sioux Falls.

The new facilities will replace LifeScape’s 26th Street children’s specialty hospital, residential and school location. The new rehabilitation center will replace its outpatient center on 18th Street and will provide additional capacity to serve its patients.

“The location has many exciting features, including good accessibility, a great campus setting and opportunities to collaborate with the state’s university system,” CEO Steve Watkins said in a statement. “Our higher education partnerships will focus on growing our professional workforce, developing adaptive technologies for those with disabilities and participating in various research projects designed to enhance the lives of those we support.”

LifeScape is an independent, nonprofit organization serving adults and children in Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Sioux City. The organization supports more than 5,500 children and adults annually and employs more than 1,100 staff members. It is the only private intermediate care facility in South Dakota and the only agency of its kind in the state serving children and adults across their lifespan.

“LifeScape’s development at the USD Discovery District will catalyze training, education and research collaborations between USD, LifeScape and the Community College for Sioux Falls,” said USD president Sheila Gestring. “Through this partnership, USD’s researchers and health care educators will work side-by-side with the expert providers at LifeScape to make a tremendous impact in the lives of so many South Dakotans.”

The LifeScape adult day center on Western Avenue will remain. The children’s campus on 26^th street will eventually be sold, but that can’t happen until the new campus is fully functional.  Federal rules require children’s services to be separated substantially from adult services. If the rules change, LifeScape has extra land associated with the lease at the Discovery District.

The project will require fundraising and infrastructure still needs to be done. While LifeScape ideally would like to be done in a few years, the entire campus could take up to five years, Watkins said.

The renderings shown in this piece were produced by the late architect Jeff Hazard before he passed away last year.

“He donated all of his time to making this a reality and we finished to this point just before his passing,” Watkins said. “We are incredibly honored to have had him on our board for well over 20 years.”

LifeScape is the third tenant and partner to enter into an agreement with the USD Discovery District, which brands itself as an innovation community. Construction on the first two Discovery District building projects – a multitenant corporate headquarters and adjacent manufacturing building – is scheduled to begin in 2020. Those tenants are SAB Biotherapeutics and Alumend LLC.

“We are delighted to partner with LifeScape as we continue to build upon the strong foundation that the USD Discovery District has established,” said Mark Brown, the new USD Discovery District president. “The presence of LifeScape in the Discovery District will facilitate collaboration among clinicians, rehabilitation specialists and a major research institution. From innovations in technology to medical devices, USD is poised to make great contributions to the mission of LifeScape and other organizations of its kind throughout the world. I am particularly excited about the opportunities for USD students to be a part of these global impacts.”