SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The southeast corner of Sioux Falls is seeing a boom in residential development. If you drive by, you’ll notice single-family homes and apartments popping up almost weekly.
More people living there means more schools. On Monday, the Sioux Falls School District will break ground on Ben Reifel Middle School.
This area of Sioux Falls is split between two school districts: Sioux Falls and Brandon Valley.
Last week, the Brandon Valley School District began the process of building a new elementary school about 1/4th of a mile away from the new Sioux Falls middle school.
Brandon Valley School District superintendent Jarod Larson said the district purchased the land in 2010.
“We continually work to take a visionary and proactive approach to managing our district’s growth and the land is in the Brandon Valley School District,” Larson said in a statement to KELOLAND News.
At last week’s school board meeting, the board voted to authorize a bond election for September 10. If approved, construction will begin in Spring 2020 and the school will open in Fall 2021.
This is just one of several new schools the district plans to build according to a long-range facility plan adopted last year. A facilities review committee met in 2018 and reviewed growth data.
Some key findings the committee reviewed were:
- 200 single family homes per year in City of Sioux Falls are built within the Brandon Valley School District.
- As of 2018, 1,973 single-family lots were available in the City of Sioux Falls within the district and 1,597 multi-family units were available to be developed.
- In 20 years, the district estimates an enrollment increase of 3,000 students.
The committee came up with a plan called BV Vision 2040. Larson said the district has recently agreed to two more purchase agreements to align with BV Vision 2020.
The west elementary site is located west of Veteran’s Parkway between Maple and Madison Street.
The south intermediate school site is located South of 41st St. between Faith and Sparta Ave.
That means when the south intermediate school is built, there will be three schools within just a few blocks.
- Ben Reifel Middle School (Sioux Falls School District) – Status: Groundbreaking Monday
- Future Brandon Valley South Elementary (Brandon Valley School District) – Status: Bond election in Sept.
- Future Brandon Intermediate School South (Brandon Valley School District) – Status: Part of the long-term plan, site purchased
Brandon Valley isn’t the only school district with limits in Sioux Falls. Below is a map showing the district boundaries and how they interact with the City of Sioux Falls boundaries.
KELOLAND.com Reporter Michael Geheren will be at the Sioux Falls School Board retreat to look at future plans for that district, and the Ben Reifel Middle School groundbreaking. Watch for those stories on the KELOLAND.com Original section of KELOLAND.com or the KELOLAND News App.
