Sioux Falls Getting $15 Million From Billionaire Bezos Fund

Sioux Falls is set to receive a $15 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund as part of their Greening America's Cities initiative.

The funds are earmarked to transform underutilized urban land into community-designed green spaces, immersive outdoor areas, and restored wildlife habitats.

The specific site slated for these improvements sits immediately adjacent to a quarry pond near Falls Park, directly across Weber Avenue.

This location is also tied to recent Sioux Falls City Council actions that approved a donation of adjacent land, which will be integrated with the Falls Park Master Plan as an adventure park or public nature space.

Smithfield Foods is moving out of the downtown Falls Park area and building a new $1.3 billion, state-of-the-art pork processing facility at Foundation Park in northwest Sioux Falls (Interstates 29 and 90).

The new plant will replace their 100-year-old downtown location, with groundbreaking slated for 2027 and operations expected to begin by late 2028.