SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) -- Sioux Falls City Councilor Greg Neitzert still believes the Parking Ramp-Hotel project will be a "fantastic" addition to downtown.
There are now concerns that some of the company officials associated with the project were not completely forthcoming with Council about their connections to Hultgren Construction.
But Neitzert would not have voted differently on the project even if he knew then what he knows now.
"The optics though - they are undeniably awful because of the perception and the ties of various individuals to both the project - if even fleetingly - and the entity involved in the terrible tragedy that occurred." The terrible tragedy Neitzert mentions is, of course, the downtown building collapse. Hultgren was remodeling the old Copper Lounge building before it came down in a pile of rubble, killing a young construction worker.
Neitzert says Council can't really reverse its decision on the mixed- used parking ramp because the bonds have been sold and construction is ongoing.
"Its just too bad this issue is hanging over this otherwise impressive project and will at least for the foreseeable future cast a cloud of controversy and doubt over it."
The $50 million Village on the River project is one of the largest construction projects in city history.