Taxpayers, get ready to get bent over the barrel, this is going to cost us. This project will be getting not only State and Federal money, but also money from Tea, Lincoln County and Sioux Falls. Tea has already raised taxes in order to save up for this. I guess I really struggle with growth for growth sakes, especially when the core of our city needs a major re-hab and more density. Do we really need another retail center or could we diversify our core? More money dumped into developers who want to turn up cornfields and swamp land instead of investing in our core.
UPDATE: Big Thanks to Snevelicious for following up on this story!
So this is taking place next Thursday, April 11 (City Council Meeting Calendar)
4 PM Architecture Ideas and Presentations
Held at the receiving building of Sioux Steel Company, 196 1/2 E. 6th St.
Please park on the west side of the Sioux Steel Building or in The Market
5 PM Heavy appetizers and drinks at The Market, 196 E. 6th St
The Sioux Steel Development folks have already mentioned they want to build a 900 stall parking ramp (or around that size) they have also mentioned using TIF. What they haven’t said is how much. I believe the largest TIF ever given out in Sioux Falls was for the Sanford Sports Complex (I can’t remember the actual dollar amount, but I think it was $9 million and I believe 20 years). The rumor going around is that the Sioux Steel will be asking for a TIF in the amount to cover the construction costs of the parking ramp a number that could range between $20-30 Million dollars. The largest TIF ever given out in the history of the city. It also seems the event next week is away to smooze the city council into this.
Some would look at this as an ‘opportunity’ for the city to get out of paying for a parking ramp like we did Downtown already, but as I look at it, we shouldn’t be contributing anything. TIFs are the largest form of corporate welfare. We should be focusing tax incentives on rebuilding our neighborhoods.
Oh, but it gets even better. Another developer is rumored to be offering the city to buy some of the RR redevelopment land. He said he doesn’t want any TIFs or tax reductions, but he is only willing to pay HALF of the appraised value. They always have to have something. This developer has already raked the city over the coals for other DT developments along the river greenway.
I think it is ironic that all these FREE market, ant-socialist Republican developers in town are the biggest socialists of them all. Maybe we should rename the area ‘Karl Marx Greenway’.
And they are partnering with the King of TIFs, Lloyd Companies;
The steel manufacturer is partnering with local developer Lloyd Companies to redevelop the company’s nearly 11-acre property along the Big Sioux River north of East Sixth Street, it announced Thursday afternoon.
Rysdon said future parking needs will likely include the need for a parking ramp on the site for both visitors to the hotel and convention center as well as nearby attractions, and will likely involve asking the City of Sioux Falls for tax-incremented financing (TIF).
“The city talked about 3,500 parking spaces within a five-block area, but I just don’t think, without a ramp, that Levitt Shell is going to see the same volume of traffic that it could,” Rysdon said. “The success ultimately depends on us working together to build those cultural, iconic experiences and in that way, we’ll build an engine for growth here in this city.”
As I have said in the past, I take serious issue with giving Sioux Steel a TIF to clean up land they polluted for almost 100 years. You created the mess, you clean it up on your own dime. If the city needs your parking, we can lease it from you.
As for parking why not WALK or RIDE BIKE to an outdoor summer concert? We have a bike trail from two directions that go into the Levitt as well as several streets. There really is no reason you need to drive your car to events there, since you won’t be able to cart your own beer cooler in anyway.
If anyone has been paying too much for NEW infrastructure and development, it has been the tax payers of Sioux Falls. When the 2nd Penny sales tax was raised to a full penny over a decade ago to fund infrastructure expansion, the promise was developers would put in 40-60% into that fund in platting fees. That hasn’t happened, not even close. In fact, taxpayers at one point were putting in over 10x more into that fund then the developers.
Well apparently some developers are now crying the platting fees are too much (about $20K per acre on vacant lots in undeveloped areas). Sioux Falls City Councilor Greg Neitzert talked about it in a recent post on his Facebook page. He seemed to be sympathizing with the developer because they used the tired old excuse that they pass those prices to the consumer of the new development. Well duh. The consumer is getting brand new sewer, water, and roads, why shouldn’t they pay the cost? How is charging me extra in sales taxes fair? What do I get out of it except higher taxes and water/sewer rates?
In about 50% of US cities with populations of 25K or more they charge the developer a 100% of the cost of new development infrastructure, so current users are not subsidizing new growth. This makes sense, because as I have often argued, new growth without a plan to pay for it, makes no sense. Slow growth that is properly funded is fiscally responsible to taxpayers. When developers don’t have enough workers to build their developments, that should tell us that maybe the ‘growth’ isn’t needed. Who are you building and expanding for?
I think we should eliminate platting fees all together and have developers instead pay for the entire cost of new infrastructure. If the NEW development is really truly needed, it will pay for itself. That’s just common sense.