City opens pop-up park near downtown parking ramp

Downtown got a little more green in recent days with the installation of a turfed park area alongside a parking ramp.

The Mammoth Lawn, named in honor of the turf donation from Mammoth Sports, hosted games and activities over the weekend.

More programming will be coming as the city tries to offer recreation and A gathering space while it waits for a developer to finish a project around the ramp, which is on 10th Street east of Phillips Avenue.

Here’s what’s planned in the coming weeks, with more activities being finalized:

• Oct. 13 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.: Golfapalooza, where you can unwind from a day of work and put your skills to the test with practice shots, a target golf game and a mini golf course.
• Oct. 19 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.: After Work Plaza Party. Let off some steam after work by throwing bags, hitting your best dive with spike ball or playing other classic tailgate games.
• Oct. 22 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.: Cribbage and cards. Play your hand at a game of cribbage. A team will be on hand to teach you if you’ve never played, plus there will be decks of cards for other games.

The Mammoth Lawn is a temporary space, said Erica Beck, the city’s chief of staff.

“Ultimately, the temporary improvements will allow us to pilot different types of activities downtown,” she said, adding the results of how the area is used will “help guide our future long-term and more permanent investments into downtown recreational amenities.”

The Parks & Recreation Department will be looking for ways to partner with Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. and members of the community for ideas on how to program the space and test out ideas, Beck said.

“The best thing about the space is it allows for gathering and activation. That’s what downtowns are meant to do,” she said.

The pop-up park will go away once development occurs on the property, but that timeline isn’t clear. The city is planning to solicit interest this fall but is waiting to see what comes forward before committing to a project there.

City leaders also continue to work with the Sioux Falls Arts Council and potential sponsors to add artwork to the side of the structure, Beck said.

“But at the end of the day, that’s a temporary improvement too, so we have to be cognizant working with a sponsor and artist to understand the expense and labor of the work is meant to be temporary and at some point it will be covered up with private development, and it’s hard for us to project when that time will come.”

The development originally was proposed as a hotel with retail space on the street level, but an agreement between the city and developers was terminated in 2019.