East-side neighborhood weighs in on plans for long-requested park

When Wild Meadows Park opens in eastern Sioux Falls, it will reflect the people who designed it.

Not the city officials who designed the landscape for the park at Brennan Drive and Yankee Avenue, but the several hundred neighbors who shared their input.

Wild Meadows Park will occupy a little over 4 acres in the Wild Meadows housing development in the neighborhood near Sixth Street and Dubuque Avenue, about a mile north of the eastside Menards, said Mike Patten, park development manager for the Sioux Falls Parks & Recreation Department.

That will make it comparable in size to Emerson Park at 14th Street and West Avenue, for example. Neighborhood parks in Sioux Falls range in size from 3 to 8 acres and serve the blocks that surround them. The Wild Meadows development has some multifamily housing but generally has a higher density of single-family residences.

Nielson Construction purchased 43 acres for Wild Meadows in 2017 and roughly 180 single-family homes will be built there once the neighborhood is finished.

“We are on our last phase with only a handful of lots still available to build on,” owner Kelly Nielson said.

While homes started at $200,000 in 2017, the same home now has an asking price of $310,000, he said.

“Purchasing homes in the Sioux Falls area is still one of the best investments a young family can make,” he said. “This development, as do most of our developments, has a good mix of first-time homeowners, empty-nesters and second- and third-time homeowners.”

Houses now range from $320,000 to $600,000. Roughly two dozens are purchased each year, Nielson said.

While a park will be “a huge asset,” because it’s not done yet it hasn’t done much to attract buyers, he said.

“Had the park been built, I think the lots near the park would have sold first,” he said.

As that neighborhood fills in, he’s now building to the northeast in the East Prairie development, which will be done on 82 acres and include commercial and multifamily in addition to single-family homes.

When Wild Meadows Park opens, likely in 2027, it will join more than 80 other parks in Sioux Falls that range from a downtown urban plaza to regional parks to a 20-field regional sports complex.

“One of our planning goals is to provide a comprehensive mix of different park experiences,” Patten said.

Neighborhood parks are designed as places for families and individuals who will spend an hour or so in recreation, then go home, Patten said. Regional parks such as Spellerberg or Sertoma range in the area of 20 to 30 acres and provide amenities such as restrooms because visitors will spend multiple hours there.

Parks officials have just concluded gathering community feedback, with more than 200 responses received in the first couple of weeks, Patten said. The next stage includes internal master planning, then a neighborhood meeting to gather more ideas. The design will be finalized in 2026 with bidding likely in late December 2026 or early 2027, followed by construction that year.

The city obtained the vacant lot several years ago as the housing development began construction. Neighbors are eager for the park to be developed, said Patten, adding that his office has received phone calls about it.

“People are grateful and excited to have a chance to weigh in on what the park should have,” Patten said. “I’m a landscape architect, and designing parks is what I do. But it’s not Mike Patten’s park. The neighbors should have some say in what goes in it.”

Some of the early survey responses asked for typical playground items. What stood out to Patten is the number of people who have asked for shade, not just a picnic shelter to sit in but something over the play structure or allowing people to picnic out in the grass.

“The requests to incorporate shade in the design stuck out,” Patten said. “People want to come and experience nature without having to leave town. They want native plants and a natural feel.”

Safety also is a concern, Patten said. People want a place where they can gather safely with neighbors and the community.

The park’s name is tentative but is unlikely to change unless a donor comes forward and wants to participate in funding the park. The Sioux Falls Parks Foundation was established about four years ago to align potential donors with recreation areas.

The city also is in early stages for parks that will accompany new elementary schools. Those sites include 22nd Street west of Ellis Road and at Valley View Road and Maple Street’s southwest corner, near the new Marcella LeBeau Elementary.