WAUSAU — Wausau government will hold two open houses to share ideas about development in downtown Wausau and along the river on Sept. 10. One will be held from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at City Hall, 407 Grant St., the other from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Whitewater Music Hall, 130 N. First St.
The main objective is to develop a long?term vision for the future of both areas.
Engberg Anderson Architects and Design Studio will facilitate the open houses. Participants may join all or a portion of the open houses, which will each begin with a short presentation. Attendees can view draft plans for both areas and share their ideas for enhancing both districts, including recommendations related to future land use, parks, trails and transportation improvements.
“Working together with the whole community, we want to look at how future planned investments to the waterfront and downtown can also improve neighborhood vitality and encourage additional economic development downtown,” said Brad Sippel, assistant planner for the city of Wausau.
Feedback from the open houses will be used to help identify alternatives, including
the opportunity for an expanded farmers market, new pedestrian connections and streetscape improvements, new residential and mixed?use development. The consultant team will then work with the city and stakeholders to finalize plans for both areas.
In late fall, a draft final plan will be brought back to the community for review and additional discussion, followed by a presentation to the Wausau Plan Commission and potential adoption of the plan by Wausau City Council.
“We are confident that this process will help us create a strong foundation for the future,” said Mayor Robert Mielke. “Wausau is investing a record amount of time and resources in planning currently, and these two studies build upon our planning successes downtown.”
To learn more about the project and see the results of the workshop, visit wausaudevelopment.com/Planning/DraftPlans.aspx.
