WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Liberty Mutual Insurance has backed off plans to construct a $50 million dollar office near downtown Wausau.
In a statement sent to WSAU News the company said “After carefully weighing all options, Liberty Mutual determined that the best course for the company is to extend the lease in our current location and renovate the space. Our employees will remain at this location. Liberty Mutual appreciates everything that the Mayor, his team and the Wausau City Council had done in working with us.”
Wausau Mayor Robert Mielke said the snag came in negotiations with a third party for an unidentified space in the downtown area. “Unfortunately there was three different parties involved in the talks and negotiations as far as getting Liberty to come downtown. For whatever reason on the third parties’ end, it just did not work.”
Mielke would not specify what space Liberty Mutual wanted to build at. He does remain optimistic that something else will come up for that space in the near future. “Never say never. Who knows something else might happen down the road. It would have been something nice for the downtown area, definitely would have been good for all parties involved, it just did not happen.”
The move was a surprise to many in the city. During Tuesday’s Economic Development Committee meeting Director Chris Schock had said talks were continuing to progress and that a deal was promising.
The company will instead sign a lease extension at their current location and renovate the space. No jobs will be lost.
RELATED: Liberty Mutual Development agreement moves forward
Had the company gone through with their plans for a new facility it would have been one of the richest building projects in city history, bringing over ten million dollars in taxes into the city coffers over 15 years.
