Sioux Falls City Council approves additional $1.5 million for downtown parking ramp

The Sioux Falls City Council has voted to approve an additional $1.5 million to complete the parking ramp portion of a mixed-use project in downtown Sioux Falls.

Tuesday night, in a vote of 6-1, the council decided to move forward with the project that has raised concerns about putting more money into a project that has already exhausted its budget.

The Village on the River project was supposed to be a 15-story building with a hotel and retail space. In May, the city terminated its agreement on that project.

However, last week Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken told residents on YouTube "the city has a responsibility to follow through on its commitment to open the new parking ramp in a timely manner. There is parking demand for nearby tenants downtown, and we want to meet those needs with a safe property. Protecting our current investment in the parking ramp in order to see the asset functional and producing revenue and to maximize the future opportunity for private investment is a priority.”

Now that approval of additional funds has been granted by city council, construction on the project should be able to resume. Officials said the project could be completed by next June.