Demolition helps continue Yards development

Over time, most of the meatpackers that brought the city fame disappeared, as did the stockyards.

City economic development officials think that with the disappearance of one of the last reminders of that area’s glory years this past year, the former stockyards is ready to once again become a major employment center.

“The city has been on a mission the last 10-15 years to develop the area in a positive way,” said Marty Dougherty, Sioux City Economic Development Director.

Development has been under way during that time. Businesses large and small have moved in, and the city has torn down the old stockyards and other blighted buildings. None of those projects made as big of an impact as the demolition of KD Station last year. It may have opened only 5.5 acres to new development, but tearing down the dilapidated building removed an eyesore and makes the entire Yards Business Park more attractive, Dougherty said.

“The impact of removing it was greater than the availability of the land,” he said.

The building, home to the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant until 1974, had recently been a business and entertainment complex. But a fire in 2004 forced the businesses out after the city red-tagged the building. Two years later, the building was damaged by an arson fire. The city took possession of the property in 2007. Now cleared, the site adds more land to an area that is favorable for development. The city has 15 acres available, not including the 23-acre Morrell site. Dial Realty also has 10 acres by Home Depot for development.

“There is a lot of interest in the area because it’s well-located from a transportation point of view. It’s also centrally located (within the city),” Dougherty said.

The KD Station demolition continued the work the city has done to make the Yards Business Park an attractive location. All but one section of Cunningham Drive, the main street through the area, has been widened and improved. Other infrastructure improvements have been made. Those changes have not gone unnoticed, Dougherty said.

“I think the interest has picked up. We’ve turned a corner there. We’ve seen a new attitude toward the area,” he said.

The Yards got a big boost earlier this month when the city announced that it will obtain the former John Morrell meatpacking plant and raze it, making room for the expansion of local pork processor Global Foods Processing – just the type of company that fits in the plan for the Yards Business Park.

“We don’t want to overlook the fact it’s still a food processing area,” Dougherty said. “What we’re looking to attract is light industry and value-added agriculture.”

The Yards has quick access to both Interstate 29 and U.S. Highway 75, he said. Rail service to the area also makes it attractive for warehouses.

The Yards’ quick links to transportation played a major role in the decision of Van Meter Industrial to build a 40,000-square-foot building at 901 Cunningham Drive in December 2009 and move from its former location off of Lewis Boulevard in northeast Sioux City.

“We knew this was an area they were trying to develop. We knew this was an area they were cleaning up,” said Matt Young, customer service representative at Van Meter, which distributes electrical products to contractors. “It’s a good area.”

City officials think it will only get better, Dougherty said.

“It’s regaining its role as an employment center. We feel like we’ve got momentum,” he said.