Dec. 22, 2020

The city of Sioux Falls has issued a building permit valued at more than $200 million for Amazon’s new fulfillment center, shattering Sioux Falls’ annual record for building activity.

Amazon’s construction valuation is estimated at more than $211.6 million. A previous permit issued for the building’s foundation in northwest Sioux Falls was for an additional $6.5 million.

The project pushes Sioux Falls’ total building permit valuation for the year to more than $900 million.

The previous record was $786.6 million in 2018.

The fulfillment center on 80 acres in Foundation Park is also the largest private construction project in the city’s history. The previous holder was the Avera Specialty Hospital and Avera Medical Group complex at 69th Street and Louise Avenue at more than $100 million.

Amazon late last week confirmed its first South Dakota fulfillment center would create about 1,000 full-time jobs and open in 2022.

But that’s just one storyline that created the biggest building permit year in history. Multifamily projects were up significantly over last year and “single family was a surprise,” said Jeff Eckhoff, the city’s director of planning and development services.

“And there can’t be a home left in Sioux Falls that doesn’t have a deck on it,” he added.

While usually “you can point to Avera on Louise, Jefferson High School, whatever it was,” this year’s permit total was a mix of projects dominated by large apartments. Before Amazon, eight of the top 10 biggest projects were apartments, along with a new Brandon Valley School District elementary school and an addition on the campus of Sanford USD Medical Center.

Amazon confirms, details plans for Sioux Falls fulfillment center