Five years, five new homes
In 2020, LifeScape broke ground on a new home for adults with disabilities in a “five new houses in five years” plan. That house, Continuum Home, opened in February 2021. It was the first of its kind in South Dakota—designed in partnership with the South Dakota Department of Human Services and the South Dakota Housing Development Authority. The staff there are focused on helping the eight residents transition from children’s services to more independent adult services. Each spring since then, a new duplex home has opened: Linden Home in north Sioux Falls in March 2022, Magnolia House on the west side in April 2023, and Kennedy Home in Harrisburg, which opened in March 2024. In the spring of 2025, Washington Home will open in northeast Sioux Falls.
“As Sioux Falls continues to grow and housing prices rise, we’re helping ensure that people with disabilities have safe, comfortable homes,” says LifeScape Foundation President Jessica Wells. “Most have very limited incomes, depending on Medicaid or Social Security to survive. This initiative allows LifeScape to provide and maintain affordable, quality homes that will last generations.”
The eight-resident duplex design by Koch Hazard Architects has been used and improved upon a bit at each site, saving in design costs. On each side of the duplex, four residents have their own bedroom and bathroom. They share a kitchen with dining area, a living room, TV room, laundry area, front porch, and back patio. It is a one-floor layout, eliminating mobility and safety challenges with stairs. The 5,475 square foot design provides both privacy and community.
LifeScape has 306 adults living in 38 residential locations in the Sioux Falls area—some in houses and others in apartments. Kennedy Home in Harrisburg is the first outside of the Sioux Falls city limits. The residents moving into the new homes have previously been supported in other LifeScape housing, mostly rentals. Having the houses owned by LifeScape can allow them to be maintained and managed more efficiently.
LifeScape’s adult housing initiative is made possible through a partnership with the South Dakota Housing Development Authority. The LifeScape Foundation—through donor support—has purchased the land for each site and provides some of the funding equity.
This May 2024 story by Dakota News Now featured Kennedy Home and a resident who is enjoying a home that is just right for her needs
