Once a hero's farm airstrip, Foss Fields set to be commercial hub in eastern Sioux Falls

The patch of old farmland in east Sioux Falls, the site of the city's next major commercial development, used to have an airplane hangar and a runway.

It’s the family farm where Joe Foss, the Medal of Honor recipient, World War II ace and former South Dakota governor grew up flying planes over South Dakota’s vast prairie with his brother, Cliff.

Family members still live on the land.

Ryan Tysdal grew up there.

“They would take off right through the cornfield and they would fly,” said Tysdal, Foss’ great nephew.

Uniquely positioned to shape the future of the family farm as Sioux Falls expands eastward, Tysdal has ownership in the land and is a central figure in its transformation into the city’s next bustling commercial district. He's also a commercial broker for Van Buskirk Cos. with experience bringing national brands to shopping centers across the city.

Growth will follow the addition of the new Interstate 90 and Veterans Parkway interchange just to the north of the old Foss family land, and developers including Tysdal expect the intersections along Veterans at Sixth Street and Madison Avenue to be a prime location for grocery stores, big national chains and other retailers looking to add a Sioux Falls location.

The site might still look like prairie. But Tysdal envisions what he called “four big corners of retail.”

The development is named for his family: Foss Fields.

What will Foss Fields look like?

The central feature of Foss Fields, both in terms of geography and the site’s future, will be the intersection at Sixth and Veterans Parkway.

All four corners are designated for the highest allowed commercial density in the city. The land was zoned C-4 Commercial by city planning officials, a land-use type that allows for retail stores with more than 75,000 square feet.

Bigger retailers often need that amount of flexibility to build, Tysdal said.

“I think you’ll see a grocery store on one of those corners in the future,” Tysdal said.

Expanding out from the intersection at Sixth and Veterans, developers envision a blend of big and small retailers, restaurants, health care facilities and office buildings.

There are 40 acres set aside for single-family homes. Combined, Foss Fields includes 320 acres of developable land, said Joel Ingle with developer C-Lemme.

Even though Dawley Farm Village just to the south is a separate development with different owners and a different type of layout, Foss Fields will eventually feel like an extension of the retail growth that exploded when Target and Walmart opened at the corner of Veterans and Arrowhead Parkway, Ingle said.

“The type of things that your seeing that are happening with the Dawley Farm project, this is continuation with that,” Ingle said.

Unlike Dawley Farm, plans for Foss Fields show future building sites sprawled out on both sides of Veterans Parkway. Foss Fields follows the city’s existing right-of-ways, which allows developers to open up lots without having to build out extra utilities and roads, Tysdal said.

“It’s way easier to plug in one retailer on this corner, rather than having to incur millions of development dollars upfront,” Tysdal said. “We’re able to do it a piece at a time.”

Market forces drive growth east

The Foss Fields addition actually started with the arrival of Menard's more than a decade ago. The eastern Sioux Falls Menard's location will sit on the far southwestern corner of the development when everything is built out, Ingle said.

Originally, the plan was for a simple retail corridor along the highway. But with new investments in the area from both the private sector and local, state and federal governments, the scope of Foss Fields grew.

City Hall invested tens of millions of dollars to extend trunk sewer east. More recently, the state Department of Transportation obtained a federal grant to help pay for the connection between Veterans Parkway and Interstate 90, opening the door to commuters and out-of-town shoppers.

“As that became a reality it expanded our view to more of a regional commercial business park concept,” Ingle said.

City and state officials have spent the last couple of years extending Veterans farther north, closer to the Interstate. The final piece of the puzzle – the stretch from Rice Street to I-90 – marked one of the biggest contracts approved by the state Transportation Department. It inked a $55.6 million deal for the project with Riley Brothers Construction, based in Morris, Minnesota.

The interchange and extension are set to be finished in August 2020, providing a new point of entry for drivers coming to Sioux Falls not just from Brandon but from communities across southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.

The city’s trunk sewer to the east will also drive growth that direction as developers run out of space to add buildings in southern Sioux Falls.

Utilities only go as far south as the Walmart on 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue, Tysdal said.

“All of that fuels the east-side growth and that’s where the developers are moving,” Tysdal said. “It will be a hotbed of activity for years to come.”

More housing means more commercial growth

The new I-90 interchange will also provide better access for Sioux Falls drivers going the other way – out of Sioux Falls or to other parts of the city. That’s important for people who already live in the eastern neighborhoods and for future residents who will some day occupy the homes and apartments being built in the area, said City Councilor Pat Starr, who represents the area.

“Once it’s open, it’s going to open a lot of land for housing,” Starr said. “The ease of being able to get to it and away from it.”

Residential development has gained momentum in recent years, acting as both a beneficiary of the investments made in infrastructure and as a catalyst for future commercial expansion.

The Pine Lake Hills neighborhood is just east of the Foss Fields development, while the Arbor’s Edge subdivision near Willow Run Golf Course continues to expand. To the south, developers continue to build out single-family homes and apartment buildings around Harmodon Park and the intersection of Veterans Parkway and 41st Street.

Potential for future housing is also increasing, with more than 300 acres of residential land under contract with in a one-mile radius, Tysdal said.

It’s a developer’s rule-of-thumb: Retail follows rooftops.

What does the future hold?

The spark needed for Foss Field to take off is an investment from a major retailer, Tysdal said, likely at one of the four corners available around Sixth and Veterans.

Even with momentum driving growth to eastern Sioux Falls, a new store depends on market forces.

Tysdal knows from personal experience. He had Sam’s Club interested in the southwestern corner of Sixth and Veterans in 2013 until Costco signed a deal to open its first Sioux Falls location.

“The deal kind of fell apart,” Tysdal said.

It’s impossible to say when Foss Fields will break ground, but Tysdal is confident that it’s only a matter of time.

With Dawley built out, there are only so many parcels of land on the east side that can meet the needs of a retailer wanting to build a store bigger than 75,000 square feet.

Eventually, after the road connects with I-90 and traffic counts start to climb, Tysdal thinks Foss Fields and the rest of Veterans will resemble Louise Avenue, with one retail development flowing into the next.

“The next 20 years of growth in Sioux Falls is primarily to the east side of town,” Tysdal said. “It’s important that the retail the commercial sector keeps up with that.”