April 10, 2023

Several properties on the west side of North Minnesota Avenue will be moved in the coming weeks to make way for redevelopment.

A half-dozen lots, some which included houses, were purchased by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation late last year from the Good Samaritan Society, which no longer needed them for expansion.

The homes were vacant when the foundation acquired them and are in the process of being renovated and moved to new locations.

The redevelopment plan is a result of conversations between the Development Foundation and the city of Sioux Falls about how to increase workforce housing and revitalize core neighborhoods, said Mike Gray, director of business development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“This is a gateway to our community,” Gray said. “This is a opportunity along an arterial street and an ideal site for a redevelopment project to try to get more density and mixed use along that corridor so we can activate it.”

The properties include 811, 817, 821, 823, 825 and 827 N. Minnesota Ave.

“If you were to drive by now, you’d see work is starting for the relocation and preservation process,” Gray said.

Working with the South Eastern Development Foundation, the homes will be moved to four available lots in other core areas of the city.

“We’ll go in and completely revamp them,” executive director Lynne Keller Forbes said. “We’ll put in all new windows and new siding and new kitchens and bathrooms. We might take them down to the studs. Structurally, I don’t know that we’ll make a ton of changes but maybe try and squeeze in more closets.”

The homes are scheduled to be moved to lots on Dakota, Grange, Nesmith and Spring avenues sometime this spring.

Three out of four will be sold to income-qualified buyers, and the fourth will be available to any buyer.

In their place along North Minnesota Avenue will be what Gray calls a blank slate of empty lots for future redevelopment. Much like it sells industrial properties, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation will put the property on the market and see what sort of interest it draws.

“What is the highest and best use for that land, that’s what we’re looking to find out through additional conversations with developers, investors, folks that do projects in our community,” Gray said. “What aligns with the community’s goal?”

The plan aligns with broader city initiatives to look at how Minnesota Avenue could redevelop as well as the proposed new options for mixed-use zoning in core neighborhoods, said Jeff Eckhoff, the city’s director of planning and development services.

The zoning change is scheduled for a vote of the City Council in the coming weeks. The council already approved a plan for Minnesota Avenue that suggests higher-density projects for the area.

“I just think it’s the Sioux Falls Development Foundation recognizing workforce development challenges and becoming a partner in this and looking … to create opportunity to redevelop housing in the core along arterials,” Eckhoff said.

“We know people want to live downtown and can’t afford to live in the core of downtown, so this creates opportunities to be closer to downtown and be walkable. From the city’s standpoint, we welcome another partner. It’s a big issue, and we need all hands on deck.”

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