Wisconsin Rapids Getting Ready for Strategic Planning

Monday, June 17th, 2024 -- 8:01 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) Get ready for strategic planning in downtown Wisconsin Rapids.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, the city is updating its downtown master plan over the next few months. Mayor Matt Zacher says the plan is needed to help the city communicate its potential to developers and investors.

“For me, the most important thing is ‘what projects can we make happen?'” said Zacher. “What communication can we bridge to bring people together that own the land, own a building, or have the capital, dream, and vision to be able to build these projects.”

That’s where plans like this become tricky for him because once they are completed the real work begins and the ultimate measure of success will be attracting new businesses.

“It doesn’t mean anything until you implement it and you can see concrete objectives being met. That’s the big thing- what projects can we actually make happen?”

“I take that heavily on my shoulders,” he added. The survey and community feedback portion of the plan is underway. Director of Community Development Kyle Kearns is also organizing focus groups with downtown businesses and other stakeholders to gather input.

The results are expected to be released in early 2025.

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