Artist rendering of Commonwealth Development's proposed housing unit in Wausau. Image courtesy: City of Wausau
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The City of Wausau needs to find a way to get out of a bad deal.
It involves the redevelopment of the property at 700 Grand Avenue. Earlier this year the city signed a development agreement for apartments on the land. Some of the units would be set aside as affordable housing; there’s an urgent need for that. But the city needs to work with the developer to drop this project.
Why?
First is an honest mistake by the city. A sewer line lies underneath the property that was accidentally left off the maps given to the developer. It would have to be moved at city expense. Then the line would need to be moved again, a few years later, when the state rebuilds the intersection at Grand Avenue and Thomas Street. It is an expensive omission, but paying for sewer line relocation – twice – is a slow-motion waste of money. It needs to be stopped before ground is broken.
The second involves money Wausau won’t get from the state for developing the land. If you’re familiar with that intersection, you know that Thomas Street approaches Grand Avenue on an angle, not at a square. The state DOT, already planning to redesign the intersection, will give the city between $300,000 and $400,000 if the land is set aside to widen the right-of-way. The city gets none of that money if apartments are built there.
With the city already facing a difficult budget cycle because of revaluation, hundreds of thousands of dollars cannot be squandered. What do do? The city needs to work with the developer. There is other shovel-ready properties that the city owns to build apartments on. Let’s give the developer the pick of those parcels. The city can’t squander money on sewer lines and state reimbursements.
This is a test for City Hall. The city made mistakes on the 700 Grand project. It’s not too late to undo it.
Chris Conley
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