The new Sioux Falls high school has a home.

And if there's one word that the Sioux Falls board of education used to define the location for the $84 million campus, it's synergy.

The board approved buying land near Career and Technology Education Academy and Southeast Technical Institute in northwestern Sioux Falls on Wednesday during a work session. The purchase of about 49.43 acres would cost $4.3 million, but the district will accept a donation of $1 million from one of the two companies the district will contract with for the land, bringing the cost to $3.3 million.

Previously:Sioux Falls School District remains tight-lipped on new high school location

That brings the cost about $400,000 over the recommended cost for the land as part of the $190 million school bond voters passed in September.

The land is located near Marion Road and N. Terry Ave. It's marked as site 'D' in a map of eight possible sites provided earlier by the district's architect.

The district will enter into a contract with Journey Development Company and Journey Land Company.

"It's kind of like as we move toward moving into the new school, one more box checked," Superintendent Brian Maher said. "I feel really good about that. I feel really good about the process and I feel really good about the options we had available to us."

Earlier:School board set to decide new high school's location as early as Wednesday

The unanimous decision comes after less than 20 minutes of discussion by board members and no body from the public voiced opposition to the proposal.

Prior to Wednesday, little was known about the property or the other seven the district was weighing with most discussion happening behind closed doors.

Wednesday's meeting was one of two work sessions for the school's location, with the first being conducted almost entirely in executive session.

When asked last week if the public would know which way the district was leaning, a district spokesperson said details about the properties wouldn't be released ahead of time.

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The superintendent also assigned a steering committee of district personnel, the architect firm and two board members to guide the district through the overall projects included in the bond.

That steering committee appointed two subcommittees to oversee the development of the high school, one focused on design and one focused on site location.

Through an outside attorney, the subcommittee secured land purchase proposals from land owners and after reviewing the cost of the properties, site development and other factors such as zoning, annexation, surrounding development and transportation access with the architect, the subcommittee recommended the property closest to CTE, Maher said.

This meant along with the other six properties, the 35 acres donated by Sanford Health earlier this year was officially off the table.

Why didn't the district choose the land donated by Sanford?

Board president Kent Alberty said while the district was appreciative of the Sanford offer near the Sanford Sports Complex, during site evaluations the land didn’t rise to the top.

The district needed at least 40 acres of buildable land for the new campus, and would've had to purchase an additional 10 from Sanford for the land to work. Though he didn't know how much the additional 10 acres would have cost, financial impact was only part of the factor playing into the decision against the property, Alberty said.

As the architect firm surveyed the land, like other properties, it didn't meet some of the two dozen site evaluation considerations, he said. He does not think the district will face criticism from bond voters because the board opted to not use the free land.

"What it had to come down to was the piece of ground that was most ideal to make this 100-year or 75-year commitment," Alberty said. "Each piece of ground was given fair consideration."

Micah Aberson, executive vice president of Sanford Health, said the school board's decision puts the 35-acre property back on Sanford's map for future development.

"Sanford Health has big plans for what will happen on our sports complex, and we look forward to taking our next steps relative to our development plans out there," Aberson said.

The property chosen rose to the top of the list because of its proximity to CTE, New Technology High and the technical institute and, it's ability to get students closer to dual credit opportunities, board members said.

"I like this piece of land for many reasons: public transportation, it’s in an already established neighborhood, the synergy with our tech schools and New Tech High," board member Kate Parker said. "I think it’s a really good recommendation."

The next step for the district will be to hire a construction manager at-risk for the project, Maher said. Designs for the new campus could be finalized as soon as late December or early January, board member Cynthia Mickelson said Tuesday.

"It could be the potential for an outstanding campus for our school district and really use resources that we already have and use them even better than we are right now," Mickelson said.