SFSD & Boys and Girls Club unveils $6.5 million facility

SIOUX FALLS, S.D (KELO) As the city of Sioux Falls grows… the northwest side of town is seeing a lot of development and expansion.

In response, local non-profits are collaborating with the Sioux Falls School District to provide after school programming to students.

A crowd of supporters gathered out in the parking lot at George McGovern Middle School to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new facility for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire.

It will be the first club to be built alongside a school. Students at George McGovern will be able to utilize the space after school and during the summer.

“After school opportunities for them is going to be the main piece of it, we just don’t have a lot of opportunities out here for our students. And to be able to not even have to leave the campus, just walk right next door and get a chance to be involved with all the activities that Boys and Girls Club will have going on. It’s a great opportunity,” Tim Koehler, principal at George McGovern Middle School, said.

The 6.5 million dollar facility will span more than 16 thousand square feet…

“We’re incredibly grateful for the Seed for Success Foundation, and T Denny Sanford for helping us support the facility. We’re also working with a lot of different community partners to help outfit the facility. And we’ve got some great support from community members and businesses in the community,” Stacy Jones, CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire, said.

The club will have a lab along with a gym, culinary space, a recording studio and social areas for students.

“Having the club right attached to their school is going to be tremendous for them and provide them so many opportunities, and it’s going to be right here,” Jones said.

Now that they’ve broken ground, the real work is about to begin.

They’re hoping to have the center open for students by the fall of 2025.