Collaboration, Connection, and Community: The SDSU Metro Center
A new era of opportunity for aspiring healthcare professionals is just around the corner. In fact, it’s in the heart of Sioux Falls.
The transformation of the 44,359-square-foot building – formerly used as a grocery store and later as a home medical equipment facility – will culminate with a September 17, 2026, grand opening celebration. Avera Health gifted the building to the SDSU Alumni & Foundation in April 2024; TSP, Inc. designed the space as a premier interdisciplinary hub for current and future students in healthcare.
The Journey Group did the construction, working around classes and labs throughout different phases of work. Private donors are stepping forward for the Metro Center project, which marks key momentum for the university’s health sciences programs and SDSU’s biggest capital investment ever in Sioux Falls.
The Metro Center will further address regional challenges for healthcare professionals. An estimated two-thirds of South Dakota communities report a shortage of healthcare workers, especially rural areas. SDSU already awards more health profession degrees than any other regental institution; more than 400 students will be educated and trained in the facility each year.
With its proximity to nearby health giants like Avera Health, Sanford Health, and the Veterans Administration Hospital, the Metro Center will serve as home base for students in pharmacy, nursing, respiratory health, public health, and medical lab sciences. By uniting multiple disciplines under one roof, the Metro Center will impact virtually all who cross its path: students, faculty, and researchers.
The Metro Center aims to foster collaboration and fuel innovation within SDSU’s Sioux Falls-based programming that was once scattered across various locations in the city.
Once completed, the Metro Center will feature teaching and learning areas, research space for pharmacy students, nursing simulation and skills labs, staff offices, student study spaces, and offices for SDSU Connect, enrollment, and distance learning staff. As Jackrabbit healthcare students complete their training and practicums at healthcare institutions, the Metro Center will provide a critical landing space for students and a shortened commute for staff that teach at partnering hospitals.
Another benefit is increased visibility and exposure for the university. Located at 33rd Street and Minnesota Avenue, more than 40,000 vehicles pass by each day. With plenty of multipurpose flex space, the facility is intentionally designed to host prospective students, meetings, and other events.
The SDSU Metro Center is a testament to the power of a major healthcare partner in Avera and private donors, uniting to invest in a better tomorrow for the field of healthcare.
$1 Million Match - Double Your Impact
Thanks to a $1 million challenge match from Susan ’87, M.S. ’93, and Mark ’86, M.S. ’87 Leddy of Milbank, every gift made toward the project will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $1 million, doubling your impact for future health care professionals and the communities they’ll serve.
There are many ways to take part in this challenge, from making an online gift of any size to naming a space within the building. Every donation marks a meaningful investment in Jackrabbit health care students, the patients who need them, and the workforce they'll someday lead.
Make a GiftSDSU Metro Center to Serve as Healthcare Hub
The SDSU Metro Center will provide a permanent home for Sioux Falls–based SDSU health programs. A $1 million challenge match from Susan and Mark Leddy is now doubling the impact of gifts supporting this transformative facility.