City Hall: Opening of downtown Sioux Falls parking ramp delayed again, this time due to COVID-19

The opening of the city of Sioux Falls' long-sought downtown parking ramp is facing another setback — this time it's a result of the new coronavirus pandemic, according to City Hall.

Sioux Falls Finance Director Shawn Pritchett recently informed City Councilors that the seven-story, 500-space parking ramp won't be opened for business until at least mid-July, a month later than previously expected.

The delay is the result of Journey Construction struggling to get the necessary materials to finish the project delivered on time as companies manufacturing parts for the ramp are experiencing shutdowns and worker shortages due to COVID-19, he said.

More:Sioux Falls will spend more than $42K per parking space at new downtown ramp

"Part of it has to do with delay of an elevator getting delivered," Pritchett said. "Things are slowing down as as result of the COVID epidemic. It’s not something that’s really really local control necessarily."

When the city broke ground on the parking ramp project in May 2018, at that time billed as a mixed-use public private facility called Village on the River, parking spaces were expected to become available for use as early as January 2020.

But when the city of Sioux Falls terminated the contract with the private partner, Village River Group LLC, in April 2019 — alleging breaches of contract — the project was paused as the city and the contractor assessed how to move forward with a standalone ramp.

In August last year, councilors were told the first spaces of the ramp would come open in June, and in November the project budget was increased to $22.1 million. Originally, the city's portion of the project was $20.6 million.