Sioux Falls to receive $15M to revitalize quarry near Falls Park

A vision to redevelop and enhance the quarry adjacent to Falls Park is taking a $15 million step forward.

The city has been selected to receive a $15 million grant toward the effort as part of the Bezos Earth Fund’s Greening America’s Cities initiative. The global organization invests in projects that help protect and restore the natural world.

Sioux Falls is one of eight communities chosen in the organization’s second round of funding for the initiative. The funding in this second round, which is $100 million, will be dedicated to community-designed parks, large-scale green space and immersive outdoor areas across the country.

“We are incredibly grateful for the Bezos Earth Fund’s confidence in our community and existing parks and recreation system to make this substantial investment,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said in a statement.

“The quarry in Falls Park is a blank canvas ready to be revitalized and activated in meaningful ways. This project simply would not happen without their investment.”

The city’s quarry property, east of Falls Park across Weber Avenue, is a former industrial site that has sat untouched for decades. The funding will be used to transform the quarry into The Quarry at The Falls, “a nature-filled destination where residents can explore trails, access the water’s edge, gather in flexible open spaces and reconnect with the outdoors,” the city said in a statement.

“While a significant portion of funding will go toward construction costs, a portion will be dedicated to public engagement and design, ensuring the community has input on the quarry’s revitalization.”

Community input and engagement “is a high priority for the Bezos Earth Fund and our team, and we are grateful to see dedicated funding within the project for that critical first step,” said Brett Kollars, assistant director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. “We are excited to work with the Whittier neighborhood, downtown and the community at large to transform this space together.”

The quarry property’s revitalization is a priority within the Falls Park master plan, which was approved by the City Council earlier this year. It contemplated improvements such as an adventure course and urban fishery for the area.

An area adjacent to the quarry also is envisioned for redevelopment following a donation from Greg and Sheri Carmon, owners of Midwest Railcar Repair. They plan to donate 1.3 acres valued at $1 million to the city for incorporation into Falls Park.

It would create Carmon Family Glen at Falls Park, an area of native plants, exposed quartzite and a cantilevered boardwalk and overlook for a pond.

An agreement for the quarry site between the city and Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation will be considered by the Sioux Falls Parks Board, and if approved, will be considered by the City Council. A public launch event for the project and its community engagement phase will be held this fall, in partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund.

“We are proud to serve as a partner for the Bezos Earth Fund grant to reimagine the quarry,” said Andy Patterson, CEO for the Community Foundation. “This grant will revitalize an underused area of our downtown and provide recreation opportunities for visitors and our core neighborhoods.”

Since 2018, more than $90 million in outside funding and partnerships have helped improve city parks and recreation opportunities in Sioux Falls.

The quarry holds historical significance in Sioux Falls.

It originated in the 1880s after Congress appropriated funding to build a prison in Sioux Falls to serve Dakota Territory. Stone from the quarry was first used for buildings on the prison compound, including the wall that surrounds the state penitentiary’s yard. Later, stone from the quarry and others in the area was used to build several downtown landmarks, including the now Old Courthouse Museum, Jones Seed Co. Warehouse, Tri-State Creamery Building, Milwaukee Railroad Freight Depot, the Federal Building, the now Washington Pavilion and the annex north of the Minnehaha County Courthouse.

By the mid-20th century, the quarry and area around Falls Park had fallen into disrepair and remained that way until the 1990s when the city began acquiring land near Falls Park for eventual revitalization. In 2004, the city opened the Phillips to the Falls project that connected the dead-end Phillips Avenue to Falls Park Drive and served as the catalyst for the park’s ongoing transformation.

The Bezos Earth Fund is led by chairman Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon, and vice chair Lauren Sánchez Bezos, his wife.

In a statement, Sánchez Bezos recalled growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and visiting a park near her grandmother’s house.

“I loved that park so much. I went there all the time. It felt enormous to me as a kid, but I’m sure if I went back now it would look a lot smaller,” she said. “I felt safe there. Protected. I would go by myself and just play for hours. That’s what a great park does. It makes the world feel bigger and the world feel safer. That’s what we’re trying to give people with this program. Not just green space. A place that feels like yours.”