Sioux Valley to Expand With Multi-Million Dollar Donation

Sioux Valley. I think you now win the McKennan/Sioux Valley Health System War. This new donation being announce at 1:00 pm today not only allows you to shadow McKennan, but also to shadow the city. According to the Argus Leader, Sioux Valley is receiving a multi-million dollar donation (100s of millions) to expand its current facilities to research children's diseases. They will be recruiting doctors nation and perhaps world-wide. They will be opening other clinics in other cities that will funnel research into the Sioux Falls conglomerate.

So, let's start at the center and work our way out with questions and assumptions:

Obviously Sioux Valley has been a poor landlord for good reason. Rental housing is not their main forte, but Sioux Valley is one of the major landlords in the area surrounding the hospitals. They aren't too concerned about what their renters are doing, including the sale of their own pharmaceutical wares. So, I expect that this new expanding status has several implications in that area. I am guessing that the homes that they are currently renting will be bull-dozed and additional property in the area purchased and bull-dozed as well to expand the hospital and provide research facilities. Either the entrepreneurs in those properties will move into my neighborhood or take root in the north or east side of town. Perhaps Sioux Valley will become more caring about the neighborhood and participate in the upkeep and prevention efforts...NAH!!! They are pretty inaccessible and will probably just build high walls to keep the crime out.

Okay, what will a 'major' health facility require? Since we are starting at the center, we will look at parking. (More land consumption) Not only will it need parking, but pedestrian access as well. (More land consumption) When you have a loved one in a major hospital, you will need a hotel room. Preferably one close by. (More land consumption) You will probably also be eating at a restaurant. Also preferably close by. If you are a physician visiting the facility you will need these things, but on a higher end.

With all the new jobs created and all the traffic headed to this area, you will need transportation access. Okay Sioux Falls, I think this means you need to play your eminent domain card on the Minnehaha Country Club or the Westward Ho Country Club or both. Hmm...that's messing with the old money of the city and the current physicians as well. The golf course is so close and so easy to catch a game after working long hours at the hospital. Hmm... what will be done? You see, the major dam in the logistics of the city of Sioux Falls is the fact that the closest access to Sioux Valley from the west is either 12th street to the north or 41st street to the south. Count the blocks...When an ambulance is bringing in a critical patient from the west side via ambulance, they have to come from either way. A huge solution to this problem is using 26th, 22nd or 18th street to go straight through to I-29. The city has shied away from doing this and the Country Clubs have dug their heels in, stating that this would destroy the wildlife preserve on their property near the river. (How many wildlife preserves do you know are directionally mowed?)
That would be the obvious solution that Sioux Falls has yet to take on. Let's look at the more difficult solution. That would be expanding both Kiwanis and Minnesota Avenues from at least 12th to 41st. In that case, we could probably eliminate the houses between Spring and Duluth, or some within that area and all of those on the east side of Kiwanis. Also possible, expanding Grange and eliminating the homes on both sides of that street. Well, I am not a city planner, but so far the city has avoided the obvious in taking the country club land. This has resulted in nightmarish traffic on both 41st and 12th and the undertaking of multi-million dollar expansion projects on both streets and they are still both bottlenecked and gridlocked.

I think the Dunhams must have known about all of this. I couldn't understand why they would build the Towers, but now I know. So many of those condos are still vacant. They are the most luxurious condos in the city with prices starting at over $200,000 for a 1 br 1 ba place. That kind of place doesn't draw your average South Dakotan. Perhaps a single professional, but most consider that status temporary. We are a large city, but still not all that urban-minded.

This brings to mind other changes in the city. We will probably have an influx of diversity in educated professionals. This means a more educated population. This could also mean renovation of homes in this area for urban professionals who wish to be close to work so they can walk, ride a bike or arrive quickly. This could be good.

Who knows? I will probably continue mulling over the subject for awhile. I had to vent my questions, concerns and assumptions. Thanks for listening. I invite all response, commentary and speculation. Mull it over and tell me what you think...