Sioux Falls closes deal to buy downtown rail yard for $27.3M

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — After more than a decade of negotiations, Sioux Falls is now the official owner of the 10 acres of land in the city's downtown where a rail yard has sat for over 100 years.

City officials and Burlington Northern Santa Fe closed the $27.3 million purchase Monday. The transaction used federal funding that was secured by South Dakota's delegation in 2005.

The city will take control of the property in two years after BNSF finishes construction of new siding tracks, as well as a new connection track nearby. The city will then allow a contractor to remove the yard tracks and prepare the land for redevelopment.

Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether says the eventual changes to the land will create "an economic development juggernaut" in the heart of the city.

Source: Sioux Falls closes deal to buy downtown rail yard for $27.3M