Oct. 19, 2023

By Joe Sneve, The Dakota Scout

The 600 block of West 11th Street that has been plagued with crime for decades has new ownership that’s vowing to clean up the Pettigrew Heights neighborhood.

Kelly Family Properties earlier this fall acquired three separate parcels on the south side of 11th Street between Duluth and Summit Avenues where a liquor store, restaurant, barber shop and apartments are located.

What’s next for the property? KFP’s Rory Kelly told The Dakota Scout on Wednesday that no decisions have been made about the future of what’s known as the Mercato block, but “obviously we’re not going to have that.”

“It won’t be a bar, and it won’t be a casino; I guarantee that,” he said.

The deal — worth more than $3 million — comes as the former owner faced increasing pressure from City Hall to address habitual police calls in the neighborhood.

And Sioux Falls city councilors earlier this year began ridding the block of alcohol sales as store licenses came up for renewal. That prompted the former Lucky Lady Casino, which had been a staple tenant in the mixed-use complex since at least the 1990s, to shut down. And it’s likely councilors later this fall also will deny a renewal for Mercato Liquor and C Store, which of late has borne the brunt of the blame for the crime in the neighborhood.

Kelly said it’s his hope to redevelop the properties with something positive and healthy that the neighborhood needs and wants. And he intends to work with community and city leaders as well as other private partners to figure out what that is, he said.

“The idea is to clean up that space and not have something detrimental to the community and hopefully provide better facilities for organizations that need it,” he said.

Mayor Paul TenHaken, who in May said he was “out of patience” with the Mercato block after more than 2,200 calls for emergency or police services racked up there in the three years prior, is glad to see some movement.

“Our administration has put extra attention on this area in recent years, and we are excited to see the private sector noticing that and ready to make investments in this neighborhood,” TenHaken said. “We look forward to meeting with the new owners on their plans and vision.”

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