Sioux Falls City Council votes to purchase Sanford Wellness Center

The city of Sioux Falls is moving forward with a plan to purchase the Sanford Wellness Center at 8701 W. 32nd St.

The City Council voted 6-2 Tuesday in favor of the $9 million purchase, which will include an additional estimated $3 million for roof and parking lot repairs as well as ADA-related improvements.

With the purchase, the city gains 70,000 square feet of recreation space, including an additional pool.

The need for additional indoor space, including indoor aquatics, has been brought forward in multiple public surveys as well as in the consideration of the upcoming aquatics bond. Budget limitations led to the city recommending one indoor option at Frank Olson Park, despite support for additional indoor water on the west side.

With the offer from Sanford Health, “it was a really great opportunity for us to be able to advance the priority of indoor recreation for our community,” director of finance Shawn Pritchett said, calling the purchase “pennies on the dollar relative to what we would have to construct it for” and a 40 percent reduced price from the appraised value.

The Sanford Wellness building opened in 2006 originally under Sioux Falls Family YMCA in partnership with Sanford Health before transitioning fully to Sanford about a decade later.

The city plans to use it for a wide range of programming related to indoor recreation, and health and wellness, Pritchett said.

The building currently includes:

• Performance area
• Zero-depth pool with slide
• Cycling studio
• Whirlpool
• Steam room
• Sauna
• Racquetball courts
• Basketball courts, college and high school court size
• Cardio and weight equipment
• Running/walking track
• Kids room

While the majority of councilors approved the deal, several said they wanted to ensure that the city wasn’t offering programming that competes with existing privately owned fitness centers.

“Indoor recreation is really different than a fitness center in my mind, and going forward, that’s what I’m going to keep working on,” council member Curt Soehl said. “I think this is a good deal.”

Councilor Greg Neitzert, who lives near the Wellness Center off Ellis Road and has been a member, was one of two votes against the purchase.

“The pool is very undersized. It’s very small. It’s a small part of a very large building,” he said. “If you’re looking for water, with all due respect, it’s not what you would choose.”

Residents in the area largely can afford to purchase fitness center memberships if they’re looking for that kind of experience, he said, adding he has received “a collective yawn” from the neighborhood when residents learned about the potential deal.

“I think we’re just fixated that we’re getting it at a fire-sale price,” he said.

Councilor Rich Merkouris compared the purchase with other investments in the city’s park system that are viewed as additive to the resident experience in Sioux Falls.

“I think this is an appropriate investment of tax dollars because a park system is critical to a healthy community,” he said, adding that when it comes to determining the sort of fitness programming and associated fees, “I’m trusting we as a body can hold the line on good policy on that front.”

The city won’t take possession of the building until late this year. Memberships remain active for members under Sanford Wellness until there’s an option to transition them. Sanford Health plans to continue leasing space in the building after that for its physical therapy program and plans to retain and update its wellness center at 4201 S. Oxbow Ave., including locker room and pool repairs and other facility updates.

The city plans to vote on the rest of the plan for its pools — replacements at Frank Olson and Kuehn parks — in September.

City delays vote on pool projects for 4 months