Growth is a great problem to have

Construction continues on Avera on Louise, the biggest building project in the history of Sioux Falls

By Tom Dennis

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Read that headline again: The biggest building project in the history of Sioux Falls.

That says it all about Avera on Louise, Avera Health’s massive health care campus now being built in the southwest part of the city.

“The combined scope of the project is huge, with multiple facilities including a sports training performance center and an addiction treatment program,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported in November.

“In total, there will be more than a quartermillion square feet of health care space, with an estimated construction cost of $172 million.”

And here’s the kicker: That’s only the beginning. For as the Argus Leader put it, “the amount of development there today is nothing compared to what developers have in mind for tomorrow.”

Over the next 10 years, Sioux Falls is expected to grow by some 40,000, and the development of the city’s southwest (near the intersections of interstates 29 and 229) is a big part of that.

Even so, the Avera on Louise project stands out. For example, a five-story surgical hospital will specialize in orthopedics and gastroenterology and connect with a threestory medical office building.

The new Avera Addiction Care Center will include a residential building with 32 private rooms. Meanwhile, among the Avera Human Performance Center’s features will be seven volleyball courts and Athletic Republic, Avera’s sports performance training program. All three facilities should be open by the end of 2019.

Said Dave Flicek, president and CEO of Avera McKennan Hospital, when speaking about both Sioux Falls in general and Avera Health in particular in a July story in SiouxFalls.Business: “Growth is a great problem to have.”

Tom Dennis Editor, Prairie Business tdennis@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

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