Sioux Falls chipping in $2.8M for Mercado Block makeover
City Hall taps federal housing funds to help turn crime-riddled lot into apartments, offices for Southeastern Behavioral Health
Visions of transforming one of Sioux Falls’ most crime-riddled blocks into a hub for affordable housing and mental health services are coming to fruition.
Less than a year after the Mercado Block at 11th Street and Summit Avenue got new ownership, plans are moving ahead to raze the structure that once housed a liquor store, restaurant, barber shop, and rundown apartments. City Councilors on Tuesday signed off on using $1 million in public funds to help get a brand new, three-story complex of apartments and offices built in its place.
“This has been, potentially, the most difficult spot in the city of Sioux Falls for the last 20 to 25 years just looking at police call volumes and other things, so revitalization in this area is critical,” Councilor Vice-Chairman Rich Merkouris said before he and his colleagues voted unanimously to award $1 million to Southeastern Behavioral Health (SEBH).
