Two Wausau Center Mall stores to move to Rib Mountain

Front entrance of the Wausau Center Mall on Washington St. Image courtesy: WAOW TV

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — More stores are finding new homes as the closure of the Wausau Center Mall gets closer.

Two stores that currently reside in the Wausau Center Mall, Maurices and The Buckle will be headed to Rib Mountain in 2021. Rib Mountain Director of Community Development Jared Wehner says the two stores will be moving into the former Dollar Tree and Pier 1 store spaces.

Maurices will move to the former Dollar Tree location as they relocated to a new building this fall. The store is located in the strip mall that includes Best Buy.  The Buckle will move to the former Pier 1 stand-alone building, which is north of Olive Garden along Rib Mountain Drive. Pier 1 went out of business earlier this year.

At the end of 2019, Wausau Opportunity Zone Fund, a locally financed nonprofit group, bought the mall from its Miami-based owner, Rialto Capital. WOZ’s plans call for redeveloping the eight blocks that encompass the mall. The site could soon be home to a public market and new retail shops and 300 or more apartments.