A rendering of the proposed single-family homes for remnant Thomas Street parcels in Wausau. (Photo courtesy of the City of Wausau)
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A proposal to build single-family homes on Thomas St. is headed back to committee after the proposed developer asked for a substantial change.
In early 2021 Wausau’s Economic Development Committee and City Council approved a resolution to approve the sale of 6 remnant parcels on Thomas St. to Tyler Knudson Construction. A binding sale contract had not been signed yet for the approval when it returned to the City Council Tuesday night.
RELATED: Thomas St. single-family home proposal approved in committee
Tuesday night members of the City Council were informed that the developer has asked the City to purchase the six parcels one at a time as opposed to all at once. City staff felt the request from developer Tyler Knudson was different enough from the original sale approval to have the initial approval be rescinded.
Knudson explained to the council that they would like to buy the parcels one at a time due to concerns from their financial lender. “I think what they’re concerned with is very simply the houses selling or not.
“And them being on the line for financing something that’s not moving. I think that if we could do one at a time, it would satisfy some of the nerves of both us and the lender.”
Along with explaining lender concerns, Knudson noted that prices for construction materials have continued to rise throughout the pandemic. The rising prices add more of a concern for the developer and the lender to know if they’ll be able to recoup the costs for building six houses at once.
The council did unanimously approve to rescind the original approval of the sale and to refer the issue back to the Economic Development Committee. District 11 Alder Deb Ryan recommended that the committee looks at changing the current requirements for the parcels to help make the single-family homes easier to sell.
In the RPF issued for the Thomas St. parcels in 2020, the City asked for single-family homes on the parcels that are at least one and a half stories, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. The item is likely to be back in front of the Economic Development Committee for their April meeting.
Comments