Feb. 16, 2026
Smithfield Foods Inc. is leaving its 117-year-old location for an estimated $1.3 billion new plant being planned on 200 acres in northwest Sioux Falls.
“We reached a point where we would have to either make significant renovations to our 100-year-old Sioux Falls facility or build a new plant,” CEO Shane Smith said.
“In the end, it became clear that it was time to make a significant investment in the future. So today, I’m excited to announce Smithfield plans to make a significant investment to build a new state-of-the-art … facility from the ground up.”
At the same time, a $50 million gift from philanthropist Denny Sanford will allow the century-old 120-acre location adjacent to downtown to transition to community ownership, clearing the way for an unprecedented scale of redevelopment.
“As a result of that, our community is going to be receiving 120 acres at the core of our downtown at the head of our namesake park, Falls Park,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said.
The existing plant has sat along the Big Sioux River just north of Falls Park at 1400 N. Weber Ave. since it was built as John Morrell & Co. in 1909. It was acquired by Virginia-based Smithfield in 1995. Smithfield was acquired by China-based WH Group in 2013 — the largest pork company in the world. Last year, 12 percent of the company became publicly traded on the Nasdaq.
Smithfield employs about 2,200 people in Sioux Falls, equivalent to a $200 million payroll. The Sioux Falls plant is Smithfield’s second-largest processing facility and the largest producer of packaged meats in the United States. It processes about 20,000 hogs daily, largely from independent producers.
The new plant is expected to be the most technologically advanced in the country, featuring advanced automation technology and I.T. systems and will be the largest in Smithfield’s network with more than 1.4 million square feet of production space.
Smithfield’s preliminary estimate of the proposed investment is up to $1.3 billion over the next three years. The investment is contingent on securing required permits and other regulatory approvals as well as approval of the final facility design by Smithfield’s board of directors.
The land at Foundation Park, which sits not far from the CJ Schwan’s Asian food production facility currently under construction, already is zoned for heavy industrial use. It is owned by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
The park “is an ideal location for Smithfield’s operations,” Smith said. “It is well situated north of the facility at two major highways and provides rail access.”
It’s a “win-win solution” that creates “a generational redevelopment” possibility for the city, he said.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The plan is to begin construction at Foundation Park in 2027 and potentially start operations as soon as late 2028.
“I am excited beyond words,” Gov. Larry Rhoden said. “Today is proof positive that South Dakota is open for opportunity.”
The project will be the largest business investment in the state’s history, he said.
A year ago, he would not have believed both Smithfield and the South Dakota Men’s Prison would be moving forward with relocation plans, he said.
“I would have been amazed,” Rhoden said.
The area Smithfield is leaving is roughly equivalent to the distance from 13th Street and Phillips Avenue to Levitt at the Falls north of Sixth Street and from Minnesota Avenue to the 10th and 11th street viaducts.
“This is a great day,” TenHaken said.
“We could have easily lost this plant. I don’t want to just take for granted that it was assumed Smithfield would stay here, because it wasn’t … but we brought the deal together and this partnership continued on and it’s going to continue on for another 100 years.”
The longtime site adjacent to Falls Park presents a vast opportunity for nearly doubling the size of downtown. In honor of Sanford’s donation, it’s proposed to be called The Sanford District.
“It’s a whole other downtown,” TenHaken said. “This is just a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
Sanford’s donation was a lynchpin in making the deal a reality, TenHaken added.
The philanthropist was at Monday’s announcement. The gift will be to the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation which in turn will make it available to the Sioux Falls Development Foundation to purchase the property, TenHaken said.
“I joked with him I don’t know if you’ll be known as the Sanford Health guy or the guy that bought a pork plant, but both of those are equally huge in this community, because they’ll both be transformational.”
This story will be updated. Please check back for additional information.
First Appeared on
Source link
Leave feedback about this