WAUSAU — Riverlife Apartments will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20 to celebrate the opening of the housing development on the east side of the Wisconsin River.
The local team of Mitch Viegut, Dr. Fritz Riveron and Bob Ohde formed Riverlife Wausau LLC and have completed the first phase of apartments at the project.
“Riverlife brings a vibrancy and excitement to Wausau which provides for quality living in the pursuit of work-life-outdoor recreation balance.” said Dave Eckmann, President/CEO of the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce and a tenant at the Riverlife Apartments.
“We see the completion of this project as something big for the riverfront in Wausau.” said Viegut. “We feel proud to be associated with the project and want to offer some credit to our city’s leaders. They had a vision that is now coming to reality.”
“The long-awaited vision is finally a reality.” said Ann Werth, former Community Development Director for the City of Wausau. “Wausau’s Riverlife Apartments on the Wisconsin River is a jewel we have all been waiting for.”
Planning for the transformation of this property along the east bank of the Wisconsin River in Wausau been in the works for years. The City of Wausau began buying properties along the Wisconsin River in 1995, cleaning up contaminated land and preparing the area for future development.
A pair of initial developers, Frantz Community Investors and Barker Financial, both backed out of the project which broke ground in 2017, but which remained unfinished until a second round of ‘musical chairs’ with developers resulted in awarding the project to Gorman & Company, another out of town developer. Gorman & Company encouraged the city council to award the project to a local group who would become the eventual developers.
A new development agreement was signed in June 2019 with the group made up of Viegut, Riveron and Ohde.
“We are proud to offer this first-class building with first-class amenities for downtown residents.” said Viegut. “The facility has workout rooms, heated parking and fiber optic high-speed internet. All of these amenities place this apartment building in a new class for downtown living.”
“We are pleased with the initial demand for units as leasing is at capacity.” said Viegut.
