WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau Historic Preservation Commission discussed the future of the Wausau Electric Company Light and Powerhouse on Clark Island, also known as Wausau East, during their last regular meeting for 2018 on Wednesday.
The building is currently owned by WPS, who would like to raze it in the near future because they see it as a liability and a hazard. City Planner Brad Lenz says they don’t see a use for it, and can’t do much with it because it’s considered historic.
“They’ve considered it a public nuisance, they haven’t been able to find a new tenant to lease it out, and they can’t sell it because of their federal licensing,” he said, adding “to them, it’s sort of a liability that they can’t do anything with.”
Before WPS would demolish the structure they do plan to document its historic nature by taking high-res photos of both the inside and outside of it. Lenz said they would even consider commissioning plaques that would tell the story of the structure, which once generated electricity for the City of Wausau. That’s where the Commission comes in to make sure that isn’t lost in the process. “It is historically significant in the city, and we are hoping to cooperate with WPS and if we can’t preserve the building we hope to come up with a good alternative that at least preserves some of the history,” said Lenz.
WPS has also cited more than 6 pages of police calls to the property dating back to 2006for various crimes and suspicious activities that have taken place. Additionally, the structure has been a target for vandalism.
The building has previously been leased to Wausau Papers, who vacated it prior to 2010. Their lease for the property expired in 2012, and since then WPS has not been able to find a new tenet for it.
An exact timeline for razing the property has not been established. Lenz said WPS still needs to get approval for the plan from several levels, including the federal government.
The building is part of the Wausau Hydroelectric Historic District.
