Another art show, this Monday
l3wis 
Downtown Sioux Falls
Is Sioux Falls Community Development and Fire Department hiding something from the development community?
Many in the development community may already know what that secret is, but, it seems, some do not;
But that’s not sitting well with JDI, Inc.’s CEO Robin Miller, who’s company wanted to build a 12-story condominium, including underground parking and a rooftop garden.
Miller said unlike the two other proposals, which would have maintained the parcel’s green space by turning it into a park, JDI’s plan would have generated $35 million or more worth of construction, brought high-quality architecture to downtown and bolstered downtown’s parking capacity.
If that plan wasn’t good enough for the city, Miller’s not sure what would be.
“When we first went to the city they said ‘We want to see quality construction that’s uniquely special to that site, and we agreed.†Miller said. “When they don’t proceed with what you think is a good proposal … what’s my incentive to make a proposal on something else.â€
What many people may not know is that the city may be holding back on projects like this because of the height of the building. Remember the $1 Million dollar fire truck the city had to provide to make sure they could reach the top of the Events Center? Rumor is the planning office won’t allow NEW buildings over four-six stories. It has a lot to do with the airport and National guard base’s proximity to downtown, but it also comes to the fire department not having the equipment to put out fires over 4-6 stories high. The other bank buildings downtown that are over four stories were built before these regulations were put into place.
Let’s face it, we could develop 12-story condos downtown, but if the fire department can’t reach the top in an emergency, we would be screwed.
I wonder if anyone in Community Development or the Fire Department will ever share this little tid-bit with the good tax payers of Sioux Falls? Oh, that of course requires transparency. LOL.
Found on FB, (H/T – Zach DeBoer)
“There’s no parking downtown! You have to walk so far from your parking spot to get to the store you’re looking for!” How many times have your heard (or said) this? South Dakotans love (and NEED) to be able to park directly in front of the store they’re shopping at. When there isn’t a nice open space on Phillips Avenue it’s “Bah There’s no parking down here!” (God forbid hey use the completely empty and free after 5pm parking ramps).
I never hear the same complaint about shopping at the Empire Mall. It’s the same concept! Park in one location, then walk a short distance to go to multiple stores conveniently located next to each other. Director ofDowntown Sioux Falls Inc. and urban design advocate, Joe Batcheller, made this very handy map showing how the two locations (downtown and the mall) compare. The red outline is the mall’s parking lot and the yellow shape is the mall’s footprint. I thought seeing the two overlaid like this was interesting and a great way to illustrate the discrepancy for people who ‘hate parking downtown’ but love shopping at the mall. Check it:
I applaud the generosity of the private donors towards the Arc of Dreams, kind of.
If you squint your eyes a little bit, it kind of looks like a Trojan Horse
I will admit, I was skeptical when the organizers of this project said they would raise all the money privately (I still am a little).
The project is being funded by private donors, with a goal of $1.25 Million. Schiller says they are at $1.17 Million right now.
It’s not that I don’t think the money is here in our community, it’s just that taxpayers have been down this road before. I have pressured Sculpture Walk organizers over the years to become more independent, they have been listening. There is also the logistics of the project. Talking to engineers and others in the art world who have been around large sculpture projects before I have a couple of concerns.
1. Since the large structure does not connect in the middle, there could be issues with it’s weight when it comes to high winds and counter balance.
2. The quartzite that has to be drilled through in order to create that counter balance could become very costly.
I have put city officials on notice that if any trouble arises and we the taxpayers have to chip in, that they proceed with caution. Think Trojan horse. While this is a great gift to the city, remember since it is sitting on city property, we have a great responsibility to maintain it. Where will that money come from? The sky? It would be like your dying uncle giving you his classic Ferrari.
We took a gift from Mr. Fawick back in the early 70’s and the city has been reluctant many times to keep him around, even throwing David in a storage lot for several years because they didn’t have the money to put him back up. I would be curious what the city is budgeting each year for maintenance of such a large piece of public art?
I also take issue with this statement;
Supporters have high hopes this new, massive piece of artwork will bring more than just tourists to the downtown area.
“The new awareness will truly advance economic development, workforce development in so many ways for so many years,” said Schiller.
Um . . . how will it do that? Sure it will promote more tourism to downtown, but we already have a great tourist attraction downtown, and it’s not Minerva’s or the Statue of David (Though he is my favorite DT).
When I watch press conferences like this, I often shake my head when our city leaders make ridiculous statements like this.
But at the end of day, I do Thank You . . . kind of.