West Side Battery in Wausau. MWC photo by Mike Leischner.
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wausau’s Economic Development and Finance Committees have approved the sale of the former West Side Battery location to Gorman and Company, clearing the final hurdle for construction on a 56-unit affordable housing development.
Economic Development Manager Randy Fifrick says residents will see progress at the intersection of Stewart Avenue and First Avenue before next winter. “We will be demolishing the old building as part of our agreement with them. We’ll do that before July, fill in that site, and then late summer [into the] fall we’ll start to see some construction.”
The land will be sold to Gorman and Company for $1, which helped them secure some gap financing for the project. Fifrick says that’s the toughest part of affordable housing projects. It also delayed this project by a full year when the original application for low-income tax credits was denied. “It’s very difficult with all the different programs that have to come together to make these subsidies work. We’re looking at federal, state, and local money. Even our community development authority money. There are so many different pieces that have to come together.
“They don’t make affordable lumber. [These projects use] the same lumber that is used on our market-rate housing. We just have to get creative, find the right sources [of funding,] and find the right developer,” added Fifrick.
The sale passed the Finance Committee unanimously. Alder Tom Kilian provided the lone no vote from the Economic Development committee because of the sale price. “I ran on not selling city-owned property for $1 and I’ve stuck to that. In cases like this where there are scoring requirements, perhaps those are extraordinary circumstances. I hope this passes tonight, and I hope in the future the city revisits [the practice] of selling property for $1 [unless] it is truly an extraordinary situation,” said Kilian.
The 56-unit development represents a small chunk of Wausau’s affordable housing gap. Many studies have shown that the area needs as many as 1,000 units in the next ten years. Fifrick says despite some recent setbacks some economic factors may be playing into the city’s favor in the next few years.
“I think we are finally to a point where we may see interest rates drop, construction labor has kind of evened out, cost for materials has leveled off. So fingers crossed that we will see more [successful projects] breaking ground in 2024 and we will celebrate in 2025 when they open up,” said Fifrick.
Fifrick expects Gorman and Company will begin site work in July, with substantial construction beginning this fall. Leasing could begin by December 2025, with substantial completion likely to come later that winter.
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