RAPID CITY, SD – Northrop Grumman will be the first tenant in a new 15,000-square foot building in Rapid City’s Innovation District.

On Wednesday, Elevate Rapid City announced an $18 million investment to expand the David Lust Accelerator Building campus and advance development within Rapid City’s Innovation District.

The investment includes constructing a new secure administrative facility designed to support companies and organizations working in national security and defense.

The $18 million project will be financed by Elevate Rapid City and South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority. A $1 million grant from the state’s Future Fund will also be part of the financing picture.

“National security is South Dakota’s next big industry, and today we’re putting action behind that commitment,” South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden said. “When a world-class company like Northrop Grumman chooses to invest in our state, it sends a strong signal to the national security industry about their belief in the opportunities available in South Dakota.”

Jack Valentine, President and CEO, Elevate Rapid City, said the expansion for the secure administration building represents a long-standing partnership between Elevate Rapid City, the City of Rapid City, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and the Ellsworth Development Authority

The project is part of Elevate Rapid City’s broader effort to build the infrastructure, partnerships, and business environment needed to grow the region’s national security economy and connect that growth to long-term opportunity for western South Dakota.

“One of the big things and key components of my vision for Elevate Rapid City is that we’re doing economic development that makes impact at the household, individual level,” Valentine said. “So, these types of projects, these types of companies, the building out of the Innovation District does just that.”

The Rapid City Innovation District is an innovation hub designated in 2017 that connects the South Dakota Mines campus to the downtown core at 5^th Street. The Innovation District is designed to bring together the local business community, innovators, and key players in economic development to be part of Rapid City’s growth.

The project represents a significant next step in building a national security and defense cluster in Rapid City. By developing infrastructure designed to meet the needs of the defense sector, Elevate Rapid City is positioning the region to support continued investment connected to Ellsworth Air Force Base, the B-21 Raider mission and South Dakota’s growing national security industry.

“(Companies) who maybe before were coming to Rapid City to hire engineers from South Dakota School of Mines, now will look at us as having a place to build a physical presence where we expand opportunities, we can have higher wages, we can raise household incomes,” Valentine said.

This announcement builds on broader efforts already underway within Rapid City’s Innovation District. Earlier this year, the State of South Dakota announced the South Dakota Defense Institute, which will bring together industry, education, government and economic development partners to support the state’s national security sector.

Together, these investments are creating an environment where defense companies, researchers and industry partners can connect and grow near one another.

Northrop Grumman manufactures the B-21 Raider and is a leader in the space, aeronautics, defense, and cybersecurity industries, and their mission is to “pioneer technologies at the edge of every frontier to connect, advance, and protect the U.S. and its allies.”

Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder will be the first home of the B-21 Raider, and that is estimated to take place next year.

Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun speaks with Colonel Erick Lord, Commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base.