By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
Construction will be completed by November 2025 under the terms of a new development agreement for The Foundry on 3rd, a multi-million dollar project planned for downtown Wausau.
While Wausau’s Economic Development Committee approved the new timeline this week, the move requires full council approval. Based on past votes, the agreement is likely to pass, but the discussion in committee grew heated this week amid concerns over transparency, the extended timeline and cost.
Chuck Ghidorzi, speaking on behalf of Wausau Opportunity Zone, said Tuesday that the group’s board of directors had already approved the extended timeline – even before city leaders had a say. That brought the ire of Dist. 3 Alder Tom Kilian, who pointed out that the decision by WOZ, which owns the property, could have led to the default of T. Wall’s agreement with Wausau.
Kilian also asked pointed questions about required environmental cleanup at the former mall site, a process that is being overseen by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. When the mall was demolished, a cement cap was left in place as a default protection from contaminated soil beneath. As part of the initial developer’s agreement, the city is responsible for removing that soil.
City officials hired a contractor to excavate the soils, but WOZ, under Ghidorzi’s direction, rejected site access, leaving the contaminated soil uncovered.
“I made the call,” Ghidorzi said Tuesday. “I think it was the right call. Still is. So I contacted our contact at the city, Eric Lindman, and I said Eric, Eric, essentially we aren’t ready to remove those soils. And so that was the sequence…and so at that point we met with T. Wall and tried to figure out what their timeline would be and what things they still had to do at that point.”
“Then we said we’re willing to extend that contract and see if it can still happen,” Ghidorzi said.
That comment fueled more speculation about the future of the project.
“My recommendation to our partners in the private sector would be get started because you agreed to a Sept. 1 commencement deadline,” Kilian said. “And my second bit of recommendation would be next time you come to the city make sure you’ve got the money to pay for the development you’ve contractually committed to.”
Ghidorzi on Tuesday also acknowledged there could be an additional cost to the city since the work had already been contracted prior to WOZ disallowing the work on site.
“There might be, I mean, there’s some consequences to breaking contracts,” Ghidorzi said.
Public Works Director Eric Lindman said a new timeline for soil removal has not yet been set. Ghidorzi did not respond to questions about the timeline and process.
Matt Thompson of the DNR told Wausau Pilot & Review the agency is aware that a portion of the redevelopment project may take longer than anticipated.
“We will continue to work with the developer and their environmental consultant to ensure protective measures are in place for the long term at this site,” he said.
Kilian urged his colleagues not to approve the extension, saying that the committee did not receive relevant information about the circumstances leading to the delay until just prior to the meeting – and then were put under a “confidentiality gag to keep the information from the public.”
Had he not been able to ask the questions Tuesday that he did, Kilian said, and had they not been answered in a way that proved rightful information to the public, “I would have walked out of the room without voting on this because it would have been completely inappropriate.”
Dist. 7 Alder Lisa Rasmussen said the city should act in good faith and move forward on an agreement that has many moving parts. She also criticized Kilian for “frying” development partners “in oil on live TV.”
“It’s not the aggressive, fast timeline that we want, but they’re spending money toward a project that we as a committee and a council agreed to. We approved the conceptual plan and we negotiated in good faith. I think it’s wrong for us now at this late hour not to approve the extension.”
Dist. 11 Alder Chad Henke said he was concerned about the cost of not approving the new agreement, which he said appeared to be higher than dealing with the cap and soil issue. “I just really worry about what not approving this would cost us,” he said.
The measure, which now heads to the full council, passed on a 4-1 vote with Kilian casting the sole vote against.
Under the new terms, the project will break ground no later than June 1, 2024 and be completed by Nov. 1, 2025. Due to the delay, the developer may receive at least one fewer installment of the tax increment grant, reducing the overall amount received.
