TEA – The possibility of an interchange at 85th Street and Interstate 29 is gaining steam, but the developer of Sanford Health’s new research center on the west side of the highway said a new exit is still not a sure thing.
“It’s still up in the air,” said Craig Lloyd, the developer proposing the Interchange. “I’ll be really happy if we can get it going by April.”
In order for an interchange project to begin, several things need to fall into place. Lloyd must submit the site plans for the yet-unnamed Sanford research center – which include the interchange – to the Sioux Falls Planning and Zoning Commission by March 3. If the Commission approves the site plans, the land will still need to be annexed by the city before the project moves forward.
The plans will also need a public review before moving forward.
“We’re hoping to put it before the city by April,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd said that he’s spoken with Governor Mike Rounds and state lawmakers about the project and received positive feedback.
“They were all receptive to it,” Lloyd said. “When they vote on it, we’ll see if they support it.”
The Lincoln County Commission already took the project one step closer to reality on Oct. 2. That was the day the Commission approved the rezoning of the area south of 85th street on the east side of I-29 from agricultural to commercial.
Tea Planning and Zoning Director Kevin Nissen and Dan Lemme, the developer who owns the land between I-29 and Sundowner Avenue both said at the time that they foresaw 85th street as a new entrance into Tea, County Commissioner Jim Schmidt said he wasn’t aware of the extent of Lloyd’s plans for an interchange this fall.
“The Commission, when we voted to confirm the rezoning, we had no knowledge of that,” Schmidt said.
That doesn’t mean the Sioux Falls representative doesn’t support the project, however.
“I think it would further expand the growth that’s coming into that whole area. It’s good growth,” he said.
If an interchange were built, the value of the land to the east of I-29 would skyrocket as hotels, mini-malls and service stations moved into the area.
From the county’s perspective, the tax base would increase. If Tea annexed the area, its tax base would increase, as well.
Developers could have a hand in paving Sundowner Ave. – which Delapre Township cannot afford to do.
“I see it as a winner for everyone,” Schmidt said.
Property owners in the newly-rezoned area, however, would likely need to sell their land and their homes to make such a project possible.
State Senator Sandy Jerstad, when she heard of the growing support for and 85th street interchange, dropped a letter in the P.O. Box of each Delapre Township landowner affected by the project.
Property owners near the proposed interchange may not want to plan to build anything on their land with the idea of an interchange gaining momentum, she said.
She said she hopes those property owners are kept informed during each step of the process.
“Some folks on 85th street like it because it dead-ends,” Jerstad said. “It’s going to be busy soon – it won’t be a dead-end street anymore.”
Jerstad said she’s generally in favor of the development, but said it is important for residents to be made aware at each stage of the process.
“I’m hoping that the planning and zoning boards have a good rationale for this,” Jerstad said. “It might make very good sense, but I hope that it’s necessary.”
Lloyd, while he said he’s happy to hear of support, said it is still early for guarantees.
If the stars aligned in favor of such a project, he said, the earliest completion date would be around 2011.