SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A $1.3 million donation is set to jump-start the construction of a new section of the Sioux Falls Recreation Trail, with construction on the project expected to start in the Spring of 2025.
The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation announced the donation on behalf of Jeff and Tammy Broin and the Ashby family. Jeff Broin is the CEO of POET, a South Dakota based biofuels company.
“We want people to continue to enjoy all the beauty that Sioux Falls has to offer – and our recreational trail is a perfect place to do that,” said Jeff Broin in the news release. “We are grateful to work with the Ashby family and the Parks Foundation.”
The donation, made through the Sioux Falls Parks Foundation, is to be put toward a new 1-mile addition to the recreation trail, extending it from a current termination point near Lien Park further down the Big Sioux River, crossing I-299 to connect to Bahnson Avenue.
The City of Sioux Falls specified that no details on the project are confirmed yet, as the project has not gone to bid yet, and the gifting agreement for the donation still needs to be approved by the city council.
Despite this, the announcement from the Community Foundation states the project, featuring an elevated boardwalk area, is scheduled to begin in the Spring.
KELOLAND News spoke with City Park Planning and Projects Manager Mike Patten about this project in March of 2024. At that time he had mentioned the prospect of a raised boardwalk system.
“In that particular location, we’re talking about a large boardwalk system,” Patten said. “Sort of like a really long bridge. I don’t want to oversell it, that it’d be like riding through the tree tops, but you’ll be above the ground when you’re riding — there is a lot of grade from where it ends today to where it’s got to go,” said Patten back in 2024.
Ultimately, Patten said the hope is to connect out to Great Bear. The plan shown by the Community Foundation shows future stages reaching Veterans Parkway near I-90.
When asked about a potential timeline on the project back in March of 2024, Patten said the hope was that the project could be started “in the near coming years.”
Mary Kolsrud, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation says this donation is emblematic of how the community cares about our parks. “We continually see donors step up to invest in our park system,” she said.
Kolsrud explained that the Parks Foundation is an affiliate of the Community Foundation, and that the two work together to connect initiatives identified by the city with donors interested in helping fund them.
“The city had identified this area as somewhere they want to grow and expand for the bike trail,” said Kolsrud. “They knew they needed some donors to step up, and the Ashby family along with Jeff and Tammy Broin are passionate about the park system and the bike trail itself. So they were excited to hear that the City was looking for funding to complete the section of the trail.”
Addressing how this donation stands to accelerate the timeline of the project, Kolsrud acknowledged the impact donors can have. “We know that when donors have an interest in a project and they are willing to step up and bring dollars to the table, sometimes that expedites projects and that the city can really leverage the funding they have available to match with donations from private individuals to really speed these projects along and bring something really great to the community quicker than we anticipated,” she said.
Kolsrud called the recreation trail “a major asset to our community,” adding that the project will create even more connectivity for the city.
