Elevate Rapid City today 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. Northrop Grumman will serve as the facility’s first and anchor tenant. 

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. 

“In his State of the State address, Governor Rhoden declared national security to be South Dakota’s ‘next big industry.’ Rapid City has an important role to play in that opportunity,” said Jack Valentine, president and CEO of Elevate Rapid City. “This $18 million investment is about putting the infrastructure in place to support private-sector investment, strengthen the defense ecosystem surrounding Ellsworth and create opportunities for high-skill jobs in western South Dakota.” 

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. 

“Economic development is ultimately about what it means for the people who live here,” Valentine said. “Investments like this create the conditions for new industries and businesses to grow, but the real measure of success is whether that growth creates quality jobs, stronger household incomes and greater opportunity for the people and families who call western South Dakota home.” 

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.