Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Sioux Falls residents will get their first opportunity to learn about plans for The Quarry at The Falls and share ideas about its future during a free, family friendly celebration Thursday, Oct. 1, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the future site of The Quarry at The Falls, 1110 N. Weber Ave.
The event, “Dream Big at The Quarry,” will kick off the community engagement phase for the project. The celebration will include activities for all ages, project information and opportunities for community members to provide input on The Quarry’s future design. The event is free and open to the public. Meal tickets will be available to the first 500 attendees.
“The kick-off event will be an exciting opportunity for Sioux Falls to see what’s possible at The Quarry at The Falls and, importantly, to begin sharing their ideas for its future,” said Brett Kollars, assistant director of Parks and Recreation. “This historic site has the potential to become a special place for our community, and we want residents to be part of shaping what that looks like. We encourage families, neighbors and anyone interested in the future of Sioux Falls to join us, dream big and help us imagine what The Quarry can become.”
The Quarry at The Falls is supported by a $15 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund’s Greening America’s Cities initiative to the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. Sioux Falls was one of eight communities selected in the initiative’s second round of funding, which awarded $100 million to support locally led efforts to expand and improve access to green spaces.
The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation is a key partner in the project. Together, the city and Community Foundation have partnered to bring private investment to local parks and recreation projects.
“We are proud to be part of this project to revitalize this area of our downtown,” said Andy Patterson, CEO of the Community Foundation. “Time and again, we’ve seen how philanthropic investments have shaped many of our community’s most beloved green spaces. This project continues that and will provide recreation opportunities in one of our core neighborhoods.”
Since 2018, more than $90 million in outside funding and partnerships have helped improve parks and recreation opportunities in Sioux Falls.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate the launch of The Quarry at The Falls with the Sioux Falls community,” said Amanda Eichel, director of Equitable Urban Solutions at the Bezos Earth Fund. “We’re proud to support the City of Sioux Falls and its partners as they turn this former industrial site into a place where people can gather, spend time outdoors and connect with nature.”
The “Dream Big at The Quarry” kick-off event is supported by the Community Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund.
Located east of Falls Park across North Weber Avenue, the site has remained largely untouched for decades. The revitalization of the site is identified within the Falls Park Master Plan, which community members helped develop and the Sioux Falls City Council approved in February. The plan calls for Falls Park to become a year-round signature park and community gathering place that highlights the area’s Sioux Quartzite, the Big Sioux River and its history while building on the continued growth of downtown.
The city and Community Foundation will announce additional opportunities for community engagement as the project progresses.
For information on The Quarry at The Falls, visit explorethefalls.org/thequarry.
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