The Rapid City Common Council is approving applications for $15 million in state grant dollars to alleviate some of the market pressure.
During their final meeting of 2023, Rapid City Council members acted on six grant applications targeting housing infrastructure needs in the community.
Five of those applications were approved and will now be advanced to the South Dakota Housing Infrastructure Financing Program for final approval.
State lawmakers approved $200 million in state and federal money for housing infrastructure grants and loans. The program went into effect this summer. Thirty percent of the money is earmarked for the state’s fastest growing cities--Rapid City and Sioux Falls.
The grants could aid the construction of as many as 1,400 single and multi-family units, along with associated sewer, roads, and infrastructure projects.
Elevate Rapid City reports a wage of about $52,000 needed just to afford average rent.
For homeowners, that same report says residents need to make six figures just to afford a median cost house.
For comparison, average monthly rents in Sioux Falls are $138 lower than in Rapid City. Houses in Sioux Falls are roughly $87,000 lower than in Rapid City.
