New Smithfield location, $90 million TIF win approval

Local homeowners ask for buyouts, worry their properties no longer worth what they were before Foundation Park announcement

Mark Wilhelm, a project engineer with Smithfield Foods, explains the benefits of modern pork processing plants at the Sioux Falls City Council meeting on March 17, 2026. (Jonathan Ellis/The Dakota Scout)

Correction: The vote on the TIF in the original story was wrong. It has been corrected to show that Councilor David Barranco voted against the TIF.

The Sioux Falls City Council cleared the way for Smithfield Foods to move from its current location near downtown to Foundation Park, approving a conditional use permit for a new $1.3 billion pork processing plant.

The Council also approved a $90 million tax increment financing district – the 27^th in city history. The conditional use permit was approved on an 8-0 vote. The TIF was approved 7-1, with Councilor David Barranco voting no.

The council added two amendments to the conditional use permit – one upping what would have been a 6-foot berm on the northern boundary of the property to 10 feet, and the second requiring a traffic study to be submitted to the council before a building permit can be issued.