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Sioux Falls

Developers Development Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

UPDATE: The RR Redevelopment Area just might fill up after all

l3wis 8Comments

UPDATE: My suspicions were correct. I guess the city has already denied a purchase agreement with this guy, and he was trying another approach by going through the media. The rumor was it was denied because the developer doesn’t roll with the developer welfare queens the city normally gives these projects to. I wondered why this wasn’t in SF Bizzo. This from the city;

Yesterday you received a packet from Thomas Development with their proposal for the railyard sites south of 8th Street (Parcels D & E), which is highly irregular as the process does not ask them to send their proposal to everyone and most developers would not want their plans made public.  Unbeknown to us they also sent a press release to the Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2021/09/28/sioux-falls-developer-proposes-more-than-200-affordable-apartments-housing-downtown/5906625001/  which is totally outside the normal process we would expect. 

As I have mentioned in different meetings with each of you, we have two other parties who are planning to make an offer on this site as well.  Under our negotiated sale process they have been notified and we expect to see their proposals toward the end of October.  Just wanted to let you know that the process undertaken by Thomas Development was a total surprise to everyone and does not indicate that we are doing anything other than receiving their proposal at this time.

Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions.

Jeff Eckhoff Director, Planning and Development Services

The 8th & Railroad building is to the Right of the Development

While this isn’t ‘affordable housing’ it does fit into the ‘workforce housing’ category;

If approved, the proposal calls for 54 studio apartments, 104 one-bedroom apartments and 58 two-bedroom apartments, with rents ranging from $795 to $1,005.

I couldn’t find out too much background information on the developer, Tom Andrews, but he has done housing developments like this all over the country. We will see what kind of tax incentives he looks for, either in discretionary, TIFs or a discount on the land like the development across the street got. If he asks for none of these things, I will personally thank him to his face for embracing the free market. But I’m not holding my breath.

Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls

More Sioux Falls City Council Race Gossip

l3wis 5Comments

I got some more news on the council races.

In Central District I asked Tom Hulbert over the weekend if he was going to run for Central. While he didn’t say he will, he certainly hasn’t ruled it out. So that’s good.

In the one At-Large that currently has the incumbent Brekke it sounds like they found a challenger from the medical sector (not sure what they do or if they are retired.)

But the big gossip is that they found another puppet like CountCilor Jensen to run for Erickson’s At-Large empty seat besides the possibility of Zach DeBoer. Supposedly the candidate will have the full-force of the mayor’s connections (and money) behind them and they come from the non-profit world.

This of course is NO surprise to me. I always new Poops and Crew would put up another Pooppet candidate for that seat.

I guess these candidates will be announcing soon. I’ll be polishing my campaign wrecking ball in the meantime.

Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls

City of Sioux Falls 2022 Municipal Election Update

l3wis 2Comments

In all honesty, this really isn’t an update, because I got nothing but gossip, but let’s have fun anyway?

Mayoral Race; As it stands right now it is Paul TenHaken vs. my favorite Levitt dancer, Mr. David Zokaites. Some have speculated that others will drop their hat in this ring, but I am at a loss of words of who would.

Central District; Curt Soehl currently doesn’t have a challenger, but I suspect someone will emerge. Some names thrown around are Tom Hurlbert, Sierra Brussard and Emmett Riestroffer.

Southeast District; so far one person has announced for the empty seat that Ricky Lee Kiley will be leaving, David Barranco. I think David will have a challenger, but I’m not sure who that would be.

At Large (2 seats); There are 2 at large members, Brekke and Erickson. Erickson is term limited and will leave an open seat. The rumor is Zach DeBoer will announce he is running for that seat. Brekke is the incumbent for the other seat and I think she plans to run again.

It is pretty early in this, and I don’t expect any real commitments until after the 1st of the year but if you have any juicy, squirt it my way.

Art Christine Erickson Downtown Sioux Falls Rick Weiland for Senate SF City Council Sioux Falls

Councilor Erickson goes ape over $60k while giving millions in tax rebates to welfare developers

l3wis 4Comments

(FF: 16:40)

So this happened at the informational meeting on Tuesday, and I didn’t think much of the drama until people started nagging me about it;

Erickson said the Playhouse, formerly known as the Sioux Empire Community Theatre until August, currently owes $66,000 in debt to the city. She questioned why the debt had not been settled after it received $418,739 between several COVID-19 relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.

First, let’s put some things in perspective. The Sioux Empire Community Theatre incurred this debt, not the current group and SMG let it grow to level it should not have. Once the Orpheum changed hands to the Pavilion’s management a payment program was set up. But in all reality, the city should have just wrote off the debt due to SMG and the previous theatre company no longer being in play. That would be the ‘logical’ thing to do

Some have asked me, “While Erickson has voted to give millions in TIF tax rebates to wealthy developers and voted for a failed $26 million dollar bunker ramp debacle why does she give a sh!t about this $60K debt?”

Well folks, this isn’t about the amount of debt it’s about who is being held hostage for the debt. The NEW organization’s president is no other than Mr. Rick Weiland, and this is an obvious attack on him politically as a prominent Democrat in our state and Christine’s cozy relationship with SD GOP leadership. It’s petty, and honestly the reason I didn’t say anything on Tuesday after witnessing her driveling. But par for course for the dirt bags that run that institution (out of Iowa).

Besides, if we really want to question the abuse of tax dollars by an arts org in Sioux Falls, we only have to look to the Washington Pavilion who is rumored to pay their director around or over $200K a year and has ravaged the entertainment tax year after year for millions in maintenance for a $19 million dollar building that cost us $50 million plus to complete and continues to drain us. Why doesn’t the city council just have a resolution that renames the tax the ‘Pavilion maintenance tax’? Let’s call it what it really is. And when are we going to get a financial report from them? Isn’t the director a Democrat?

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