Sioux Steel redevelopment looks for restart on project, TIF

Megan Raposa -

Simplified: City Council last February approved tax-increment financing for plans to redevelop the old Sioux Steel site downtown. Then, a pandemic hit, and the project pressed pause. Now, ready to restart, the developers are asking the city to restart the TIF as well.

Why it matters:

  • The development will bring office space, condos, retail, restaurants and a parking ramp to what's now being called The Steel District.
  • All told, it's expected to be a more than $200 million project, said Jake Quasney, executive vice president of development for Lloyd Companies, the project's developer.
  • Tax-increment financing, aka TIF, (explained in-depth here) is, essentially, a tool the city has to make it easier for developers to build new buildings.
  • Once a TIF is approved, the clock starts ticking down to its expiration, which meant Lloyd Companies essentially lost a year of potential tax savings.
  • That means, to gain that back, the city has to close the existing TIF and start a new one.
"All items related to the boundaries of the TIF, the project plan and the actual TIF request would remain the same," Dustin Powers, community development coordinator for the City of Sioux Falls, told councilors Tuesday afternoon.

What's the timeline for the project?

Lloyd Cos. hopes to break ground in August on the parking ramp and office tower.

Construction on the hotel would then likely begin either this fall or in the spring of 2022.

Apartments and retailers are expected to open in early spring 2023, and the Canopy by Hilton Hotel and Convention Center would then open by the spring of 2024, according to the timeline shown to councilors.

What happens next?

Lloyd will take their TIF proposal and updated project proposal – the condos are a new addition – to the county commission, planning commission and ultimately back in front of the City Council in mid-June for final approval in early July.