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A massive project by LifeScape will allow more people to receive services in Sioux Falls.

The $98 million project, slated to be completed in December 2026, builds a children’s services campus in northwestern Sioux Falls and allows the nonprofit to expand nearly all of its offerings, improving access for children in the region.

For Jessica Wells, president of the LifeScape Foundation, the project provides hope, dignity and meaning for the people and families they serve.

LifeScape provides residential services, behavioral and complex medical care, specialty school services, and inpatient, outpatient, and outreach therapy for children. The current campus tucked into a residential neighborhood in central Sioux Falls isn’t ideal.

“We did as much modification as we could,” Wells said.

The 200,000-square foot building is being built on 10 acres on North Career Avenue and West 34^th Street North. The facility will include a 72-bed children’s residential area, a 25% larger specialty school, an 18-bed pediatric rehabilitation hospital, expanded inpatient and intensive outpatient therapy space, gymnasium, pool, therapy pool, and some administrative offices.

“Just to be able to look at families and say, ‘OK, your child is recovering from an accident, and they have to relearn how to walk, and how to button their shirts, and feed themselves,’ and knowing we have the room to accommodate that skill reacquisition feels so good,” Wells said.

Beyond the new space is additional technology – everything from video and audio to stay connected when family is far away to remote consulting for physicians and smart rooms where a child can use eye movement to dim the lights or turn on the television, for example, offering more independence and control over their environment.

And, of course, a place to play. The new campus has playground spaces in the center, surrounded by buildings, keeping children safe – without fences that can feel sterile.

“It’s a completely inclusive, great space,” Wells said. There are several spaces – from a high activity area to quieter spaces to gardens.

‘Better together’

About a decade ago, Children’s Care Hospital merged with South Dakota Achieve to form LifeScape.

“We saw there would be this higher need,” Wells said, noting that children with challenging behaviors was a growing segment. “And there weren’t enough options to support adults with Autism and other behavior disorders and those with complex medical needs in town. So we thought, we can do this better together.”

LifeScape continues improving existing adult day services facilities and residential homes. It was soon after when the newly formed LifeScape realized they would quicky outgrow their current children’s campus.

“We were landlocked, and the pipes and the boilers are circa 1952,” Wells said. “Things were getting old, and we had just about hit the end of being able to repair them.”

The building itself opened in 1952 in response to the polio epidemic, and it just wasn’t configured to meet current needs. And while Children’s Care and South Dakota Achieve served different populations, it was really just a continuum of care – and a new building would need to address those ages and stages.

Both organizations grew out of families coming together to say their children – young and young adult – deserved a dignified place to live, go to school and find independence.

“It was family advocacy,” Well said. “The community steps in and says, we, as a community, can solve this. It was a lot of community partners coming together.”

But the need kept growing. Advances in medical care mean kids with complex medical needs are living longer, and there are more than 450 families on waitlists for interventions such as autism services.

In around 2018, LifeScape began exploring what an expansion would look like. The COVID-19 pandemic caused some delays but also provided valuable perspective on the design. For example, the initial design would have made it difficult to quarantine sick individuals. Other barriers – including costs and inflation – made the organization realize they needed to regroup.

It was back to the drawing board for acquiring property, design – and funding. The price tag skyrocketed. They considered making slow renovations on their central Sioux Falls property – tearing down one building and putting up another, piece by piece, stage by stage.

But it just wasn’t feasible.

‘Count me in’

Once again, the generosity of Sioux Falls came through.

Someone stepped forward with a parcel of land in northwestern Sioux Falls. He sold it to LifeScape for an amount they could afford. And suddenly, the project was possible again.

“I am in awe of how many donors have said, ‘count me in,’” Wells said. “Mr. Denny Sanford was our lead donor – his first gift made the project possible.”

Others, such as Dave and Christine Billion, have a long history with LifeScape.

“His family was one who said in 1948, ‘we can do this as a community,’” Wells said.

Wells said LifeScape has built an immense amount of trust with the community – and their mission inspires generosity. “It’s very humbling,” she said.

LifeScape has an endowment held at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, which helps support operations in a sustainable, dependable way.

Plus, many people give to the organization through their Donor Advised Funds, said Mary Kolsrud, chief philanthropy officer for the Foundation.

“We see our donors step up time and time again,” Kolsrud said. “We have seen so much generosity in this community, not only through something like the Journey to Hope campaign, but also through planned gifts to LifeScape. This kind of giving is instrumental to the success of these organizations, and it really represents how powerfully our community feels about having these services close to home.”

Wells agrees.

“In Sioux Falls, we have a lot of families where philanthropy is important to them, and continues to be for generations,” Wells said. “That is so exciting to see, and we are so fortunate.”

Wells said the Foundation and the reliability of the endowment has been integral.

“We have had a long relationship with the Community Foundation,” Wells said. “That partnership has been an important part of our culture.”

She said it helps to have a partner the community trusts.

“The Community Foundation does such great work, and they have such integrity. Our community trusts them,” Wells said. “It’s a good option for donors, and they have helped connect us to donors who want to make an impact.”