WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — The first project in Wausau’s new east riverfront redevelopment area started Friday. It’s called WOW, or Wausau On the Water. The project had its groundbreaking ceremony Friday afternoon, as crews were already leveling sand for the new 22,000 square foot building.
Developers Bill and Julie Greenwood and their investors have been working on this concept since 2011. Julie Greenwood says the family food and recreation center will have something for everyone, plus a great view of the Wisconsin River. “It’s going to be beautiful, and we look forward to sharing it with the whole Wausau community, whether they’re on the walking trail, going to the wharf, boating in, boating by, coming in for dinner, lunch, party, play arcade games, laser tag, we look forward to welcoming everybody.”
The facility will have a bar and restaurant, plus games and activities for several ages. This includes a redemption arcade, laser tag, party rooms, conference facilities, meeting rooms, and outdoor facilities. They plan to offer everything from yoga on the terrace to some outdoor entertainment.
Greenwood anticipates they will be ready to open this fall. “We don’t have an exact date in October, but we’ll start out doing some soft openings, and then we’ll be ready to go, sometime in October. We wish we could have it done for the summer, but unfortunately, it’s not to be.”
Bill and Julie Greenwood have successfully started business projects before, including a downtown liquor store many years ago, and the Greenwood Hills Country Club. Julie says this project will have a lot of hands-on involvement from their son Evan. “One of the reasons we really wanted to do this project was to help out our son, Evan, whose pretty young, but he’s been working at the same establishment up the road from here for about four or five years, trying to learn the business, trying to learn the trade, which is what we asked him to do… and he did it.”
Wausau’s Community Development Director Ann Werth is glad to see a local developer step up to make the first move. She says along with the WOW building, the Parks Department is working on expanding the public trail and building boat piers next to it. “As you can see, the road is being done, the river walk is going to be done, and the bridge, and we’re so excited about the project.”
The full service dining and riverfront seating will also have some features that may be familiar to some people. The Greenwood family acquired the furniture and fixtures from Curley’s Pub, when it was removed from Lambeau Field for a new development. Those items will become part of WOW.
