WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A local dental group will most likely be constructing a new clinic in downtown Wausau in the next year.
Tuesday evening the Wausau Economic Development Committee considered a revised proposal from Cherry Tree Dental regarding a new dental clinic in the Riverlife area. Cherry Tree brought an initial draft of the proposal to the committee back in June that raised a number of concerns. At the time the committee was concerned about a lack of mixed-use development, the suburban look of the building not fitting with the urban downtown area, the parking load being too high, and an excessive request for financial assistance.
At their Tuesday meeting, the committee looked over a new proposal that incorporated much of the feedback the committee had in June. Business Development Specialist Sean Fitzgerald explains the changes that were made in the proposal. “The design has been modified to be more urban. Previously the party had asked for a dollar land sale. They’ve agreed to pay $140,000 for their portion of the lot which is equivalent with the amount that the city estimated the value of that parcel to be.”
The new proposal does still include a financial ask to help with the costs associated with building a foundation over contaminated soil. The developer is requesting TIF financing of $175,000 to cover the foundation costs that are higher than normal to cap previous soil contamination as the parcel is in a former industrial area. Of the TIF financing, $100,000 will be upfront payments with the last $75,000 being reverse TIF payments starting after 50% of construction is completed.
With the revised proposal, committee member and District 7 Alder Lisa Rasmussen says it addresses all the committee’s previous concerns. “The design has improved by 150%. I mean it’s amazingly better for the area than the original proposal. I think that the way this has been restructured, all of the concerns that I had have been addressed. Our return on investment given the fact that they’re willing to purchase the parcel rather than secure it for a dollar.
“The fact that we know that soil challenges and geo piers are a challenge along the riverfront, that’s not anything that we’ve not had to do on any other project. If we can structure that as a reverse TID arrangement, secure a land sale for the land rather than a gift, our return on investment is less than four years. That’s really good, that’s what we look for.”
The project was approved unanimously by the Economic Development Committee. The project is expected to have a minimum value of 2.2 million dollars once completed and will bring in $54,500 of annual tax revenue.
The construction of the dental clinic will also help create a medical campus in the area with the current Eye Clinic of Wisconsin location and the new Aspirus Clinic under construction near the YMCA.
