https://pigeon605.com/greenway-jacob...on-milestones/
Greenway, Jacobson Plaza reach construction milestones
The early start to spring means two major downtown improvements are taking shape a little faster than expected.
The next phase of River Greenway improvements, from Falls Park through The Steel District development toward Sixth Street, will start pouring the riverwalk in the coming weeks.
Lloyd Construction has completed site grading and most bank stabilization on the west bank of the river, including a large retaining wall and a rock wall that will create the future Lloyd Landing plaza area.
“All of that is complete,” city of Sioux Falls park development specialist Tory Miedema said. “And then, we also have the shelter steel all erected for Lloyd Landing and basically 90 percent of the finish graded.”
You’ll also see colored panels go up on the shelter soon, followed by work on the walkway near the falls.
The most complex part of the project includes shoring up the degrading low-head dam in the area, which is needed to create a pool upriver, including bringing adequate water levels for kayaking and fishing. That’s about 25 percent complete and will continue throughout the year.
When it’s complete, the area will include the riverwalk itself in addition to Lloyd Landing, a multiuse public space with a shelter for picnics or other gatherings, a multipurpose synthetic turf lawn, a small dog park, seating and a photo station. The area also is planned for new public art and future activities, including outdoor fitness, food trucks and live music.
“They’re looking to get all the west bank work done basically by the end of October this year, and they’re on track for hitting that,” Miedema said. “So basically the low-head dam will spill into next year, but they’re well ahead of schedule just because of the nice weather.”
The favorable conditions also are helping out the nearby Jacobson Plaza project, also being built by Lloyd Construction.
“They’re making awesome progress too. I would put them right on schedule, maybe a little bit ahead,” Miedema said.
One clear sign of progress: The walls are up on the warming house on North Phillips Avenue, and the roof is going up.
“They’ll be putting that up for the next week or two, and they have some of the floor poured in there,” Miedema said.
A building for operations and maintenance also is going up and will have the roof on soon.
“And they’re putting basically the decorative outer portions of both buildings on, so there’s a lot of masons out there and a lot of work happening,” Miedema said. “The exciting thing coming up is they have mainline utilities in, but they’ll be getting the ice rink subcontractor in this week or the week after, so you’ll start seeing a lot of the piping and work going in for the rink.”
The city also has put out a request for proposals for a business to offer food and beverages at Jacobson Plaza.
The RFP calls for “a dynamic and visionary partner to provide and manage a restaurant, bar and/or eating and entertainment-related operation with a distinctive menu/experience that will cater to visitors of Jacobson Plaza and draw people to the Falls Park area for a memorable experience.”
The deadline to submit is 2 p.m. May 23.
The ice ribbon likely will come together first, followed by the splash park, accessible playground and dog park.
“Once the ice contractor gets rolling and gets 30 to 40 percent complete, you’ll see them start jumping over and doing some of the flat work underneath the playground and working through the dog park,” Miedema said.
“They have all the materials mostly on-site or coming in the next month, so that could easily kick into gear and start coming out of the ground.”
The plan is to open Jacobson Plaza in June 2025 but “if there are opportunities to be done sooner and open up quicker, we will,” Miedema said.
Prev
Linear Mode
