Wausau Economic Development Committee Approves Issuing Request for Interest for Land in Riverlife Area

Thursday, May 9th, 2024 -- 10:01 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) The Wausau Economic Development Committee has approved issuing a request for interest (RFI) for land in the Riverlife area near First and Fulton Streets.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Economic Development Manager Randy Fifrick says this isn’t a traditional request for proposals, or RFP, that the city has often used to fill vacant properties with development.

An RFI requires less up-front work while providing more flexibility and creativity in the returns. “[With an RFP] we have already defined the box. Instead, we want to have a bit more freedom to work with the developer. They [don’t need to] come in with a design set, a plan set. Instead we want to [be able to say] ‘we like this, but could you adjust this a little bit?'”

A less precise plan also means less up-front costs for the developer, which is big especially if the city will have multiple proposals to consider. Fifrick says that could mean sinking significant money into a plan that won’t get picked anyway.

“One of the things we have heard is the RFP process is very cumbersome for developers. There’s a lot of upfront costs, they’re putting in a lot of time. When they do that, there’s less of a chance to adjust to [changes] as we go through our process. “We want to come in, be able to say ‘you’ve got a great idea- let’s figure out how we can make this happen,” added Fifrick.

He does expect multiple types of proposals but he also knows that the winning idea could come back to a mixed-use retail and housing project. That’s not something he’s against, especially considering the land’s potential for multiple housing types and the region’s need for all housing types.

“The way that parcel lays out from east to west there’s a lot of opportunity. Near the river, we could be looking at a little higher-end development. But as you get away from the river there’s an opportunity to work in some smaller units to attack some of the workforce housing that we need- something that’s a little more moderately priced.”

The measure will go to the full council next Tuesday. If approved, Fifrick says they will go to all of the developers in the city’s Rolodex and be posted online for others to see. Proposals would be due by the end of July, with the Committee getting their hands on them in August.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.