Long-troubled Mercato block leveled for new office, housing project
Demolition marks turning point for Pettigrew Heights neighborhood in central Sioux Falls
Rubble is all that’s left of a building blamed for decades of crimes in a central Sioux Falls neighborhood.
The long-anticipated turnaround of 11th Street and Summit Avenue, known as the Mercato Block, progressed Thursday with the demolition of a vacated apartment and retail complex that had been the subject of thousands of police calls.
Last year, Mayor Paul TenHaken and Sioux Falls City Council members lost patience with the fighting, pimping, prostituting, assaults, and occasional killings that had plagued Pettigrew Heights’ 600 block of West 11th Street and refused to renew four alcohol licenses granted to businesses on the first floor of the rundown building.
The new owner, Kelly Family Properties, purchased the property for $3 million and earlier this year announced plans to raze the structure and build a new office and apartment complex where Southeastern Behavioral Health operations will be located. Housing units will be offered to both the nonprofit’s clients and the general public.
City Hall is also facilitating the partnership between SEBH and KFP, chipping in $2.8 million to help SEBH purchase the property outright and leverage additional government subsidies that project backers say are necessary to bring the redevelopment to fruition.
Housing Development Manager Logan Penfield said at the time the $1 million award is considered a forgivable loan and would need to be paid back if plans don’t pan out.
