SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Today the city announced they are accepting proposals from developers. The goal is to find the best use for the parking ramp. The original $50 million plan in 2017 included a hotel and would have been the tallest building in Sioux Falls. In May 2019, the city terminated the development agreement with the Village River Group. City Council Member Marshall Selberg says he’s looking forward to seeing ideas from developers.

“We all want to keep our options open,” said Selberg. “Let’s see what somebody has in mind, it’s been said before, well doesn’t that look like you are going to do some sort of hotel or something really similar to what was there before? Well, that might happen, but we also want to be open to anything else that might come up.”

The city wants to make sure the next developer selected has a solid plan and financial backing.

They will use the negotiated sale process, recently used for the Cherapa and Rail Yard flats projects. The City’s Business Development Director, Dustin Powers, will be the point person for developers.

“In the beginning of January, we are going to start to review the proposals that have been submitted, so ultimately, that kind of lets the development community know that we are going to start reviewing proposals in January, so you should probably work with us to get your proposal submitted, but ultimately we don’t close the process until we’ve selected an individual party,” said Powers.

This parking ramp was built with the infrastructure to support 15 stories, so that adds to the possibilities for developers.

That property has the potential to be the jewel of our downtown and considering everything else we’ve got going on down here, that is saying a lot,” said Selberg.

The city is open to either selling or leasing the property, depending on the project. The city has set up a special website for the parking ramp project.