While this isn’t a bad thing or a surprise, projects like this take a lot of time and a lot of money when businessmen cook up public art projects;

Jeff Hansen, media relations director for the SculptureWalk organization behind the project, said this week the group has commitments from donors that get the project all the way to its $2.4 million fundraising goal. Earlier this year, the group said it still had about $600,000 left to go.

“This summer we had a long way to go yet,” Hansen said. “But we hit the $2.4 million level, which pays for everything — construction and installation and the plaza area.”

While I think this project being privately funded is awesome, I question a few things.

• How did the original pricetag of $1 million suddenly jump to $2.4? Even with the design change I find it extremely fascinating that a project can be this over budget.

• One of the main arguments supporting the project is to have a tourist attraction for downtown. Really? What about Falls Park? SculptureWalk? Statue of David? All the fantastic bars and restaurants?

Like I said, I think it is great that private business people in Sioux Falls want to fund this very expensive public art project. But I still think the money is being misguided.

Instead of building one gigantic structure that is a monument to WHAT? the money could have been spent on hundreds of smaller public art projects downtown employing dozens of local artists, landscape architects and construction workers beautifying all corners of downtown with mini gardens, murals, and permanent functional sculptures and art. Instead, Arc of Dreams will occupy an area already crowded with Roman like greenway pillars and steps.

It will in turn be a monument to itself and an incredible waste of private dollars on public art. But certainly NOT a surprise in good old Sioux Falls.

10 Thoughts on “Arc of Dreams behind schedule and $1.4 million over original budget

  1. Edison Wax Cylinder Taco on October 28, 2018 at 3:25 pm said:

    This Arc is an attempt to immortalize the names of some, who may be known to give to art, but not to this degree if their names are not on it….. Although, true vanity itself is an art as well….. Perhaps, the similarity of the two words, “arc” and “art,” suggests more a subconscious attempt to bridge the two as one with the hope that most will not notice.

    #TheArtOfVanity

  2. i’ve wandered aimlessly through life. had there been an arc of dreams to inspire me as a kid, who knows how successful i might have been. kids today don’t know how lucky they are to have something of this magnitude to inspire them.

  3. I heard they are asking for $50K from the taxpayers of SF for the project. I have no idea what that is for.

  4. Fluff McFluffin on October 29, 2018 at 7:32 am said:

    The Mike Huether Memorial Arc of Perpetual Disconnect, representing what is said and what is true and the disconnect between them.

  5. Matthew Paulson on October 29, 2018 at 8:36 am said:

    This doesn’t surprise me. It’s really difficult to budget for projects that haven’t really been done by anyone else before. Should look cool when it’s done though!

  6. Rufusx on October 29, 2018 at 9:41 am said:

    How much would the taxpayers be asked to supply every year to maintain all the “little parks, etc.” you propose? Wouldn’t there need to also be some sort of maintenance endowment fund for that? Maybe the “over budget” amount includes just such an endowment for the arc?

  7. D@ily Spin on October 29, 2018 at 9:52 am said:

    The ‘Rib over the River’ will happen when the State Theater reopens, aka NEVER. Why can’t this be recognized as another scam? When you give to anything private, the money goes to into nonprofit management. Sure, a third might go into construction but often the bank account dissolves and the whole idea gets forgotten.

  8. Ruf, I think the AOD people said they will have to have a $60K a year endowment for insurance/maintenance, etc.

    DTSF has a maintenance crew already paid for thru the DT BID district. They maintain the sidewalks, water plants, etc.

  9. If they needed tax dollars, why weren’t they upfront about that from the beginning.

    Oh, wait……. if we come up short, the taxpayers can always bail us out!

  10. CD Taco on October 30, 2018 at 1:13 am said:

    If Saddam was still in charge, that thing would be done by now….

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