Damakant Jayshi
The team behind a proposed concert venue near the riverfront is withdrawing the project, citing what they call Wausau’s lack of required financial and logistical infrastructure to support such a venture.
“In our discussions with (city) staff following our June 6 presentation, we have learned that the city is not in a position to handle required infrastructure improvements, both logistically and financially, to support a project with this type of draw until at least 2025,” Joe Ellis of VY Properties, LLC, the developers of The River told Wausau Pilot & Review on Wednesday. “This information has led us to withdraw our interest in pursuing development in the riverfront area and will be exploring opportunities to develop elsewhere in the region.”
The decision comes amid differences over who should fund a study to determine the viability of the large-scale project. The developers have been told that unless “they are willing to pay for the study, we can’t move forward with the project,” Community Development Director Liz Brodek said this week.
On Tuesday, the Wausau Economic Development Committee heard an update from Brodek that implied the project was stalled after differences over who should pay for a feasibility study.
Ellis and Anna Herman are co-owners of the proposed venture. Ellis said he was not invited to attend Tuesday’s ED Committee meeting, but attended anyway. Wausau Area Access Media video shows Ellis seated in the gallery, but he did not come to the podium to speak after committee Chair Sarah Watson said she was open to anyone addressing the committee.
Ellis, in his email to Wausau Pilot & Review, disputed the requirements imposed on The River and the nature of the study city officials requested.
“The feasibility study that city staff has asked us to pay for is markedly different in nature than a market analysis, which is what the EDC asked staff to negotiate with us,” Ellis said. He added that the feasibility study would take up four months to complete and cause delay, resulting in a “cost up to fifty thousand dollars in comparison to the estimated five to ten thousand dollars of a market analysis.”
The committee had directed staff in June to arrange for independent research on the demand for and sustainability potential of such a large-scale project.
At the suggestion of Finance Director Maryanne Groat, who questioned some of the figures presented for the project, the committee said VY Properties, LLC, should pay for the study and not taxpayers.
In June, Ellis and Herman said they expect an annual attendance of about 250,000 at The River, which will cost about $15 million to build and bring in an estimated $53 million in annual spending. They sought a taxpayer investment of about $2.6 million, or 20 percent of the anticipated $13.1 million assessed value of the final project.
From a size perspective, The River would be similar to The Eagles Ballroom at The Rave in Milwaukee, which also has a 3,500-person capacity.
City alders and others in the entertainment and talent booking industry have questioned the scale and viability of the second concert project.
At the Economic Development Committee meeting on Tuesday, Alder Lisa Rasmussen pointed out that the concert’s ticket volume figures that the developers shared during their presentation in June would make this venue in Wausau one of the top 10 in the country. “How does that happen here?” She alleged the figures were privately-sourced, questioning their reliability.
In June, Sean Wright, the executive director of The Grand Theater, termed the project a “pipe dream.” He said the proposal’s figures are not realistic, questioning the claim that The River could draw top artists to the city as well as projected annual sales of 250,000 tickets, a number he called “outrageous.”
Ellis did not respond to question about how they arrived at the figures that have come under scrutiny but said he will continue to pursue plans elsewhere in the region.
