City of Wausau Working to Redevelop Empty Downtown Office Building

Monday, November 3rd, 2025 -- 9:00 AM

(Brianna Weaver, WSAW) The City of Wausau is working on a new plan to redevelop an empty office building in downtown Wausau into a mixed-use development.

According to Brianna Weaver with WSAW, the project targets 11 Scott Street, also known as Riverside Place, which is between the Dudley Tower and the Marathon County Public Library.

The building has been vacant for more than two years. “Our downtown is our heart. We want to see that grow,” said Randy Fifrick, development director for the City of Wausau. Fifrick said the businesses that were once in the building cleared out when the pandemic hit and the building never recovered.

“Office workers weren’t coming to the office anymore,” he said. “It’s across the city, really. What we see with our office space, it’s hard to find tenants at this point; just that whole model has shifted.”

While the building is technically considered vacant, some people are currently using it for co-working spaces. “It’s really a place for you to go, you know, so you’re not working out of your room, your office, your spare bedroom. Provides a desk, you know, office-type equipment that you’re able to utilize,” Fifrick said.

He hopes this is something they can expand on, but said the way the building is being used now isn’t sustainable. Developer Raleigh Lokre has plans to reserve the first and second floors for commercial areas, while the third and fourth floors would be turned into 52 apartment spaces.

The project would also address a parking problem. Currently, the city leases 480 parking spots in the Jefferson Street Ramp, which are dedicated for this building.

“With that building being empty, we’re not receiving any revenue, but we have to have those available. So that creates a long-term liability really to the city till 2063,” Fifrick said.

A new lease agreement would shrink the number to 150, ensuring the city can make money on the other 330 spaces otherwise sitting empty. A timeline hasn’t been established, but he expects progress soon.

“I would guess in the next two, three months that we’ll see that development agreement come forward to the city council, and that’ll allow the developer, once they get that, to start looking at pricing and construction contracts and everything like that,” he said.

Once they receive the development agreement, they can start to draft a timeline.

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