Wausau City Council approves delayed start date for Foundry on 3rd project at former mall site
WAUSAU - The Wausau City Council approved an amendment to the development agreement with T. Wall Enterprises Tuesday, giving the developer until June 1, 2024, to begin construction of Foundry on 3rd, a 154-unit apartment complex and retail building on the site of the former Wausau Center mall. The amendment also limits the city's liability for costs incurred due to the delay.
The amendment passed by a vote of 7-3 with alderpersons Tom Kilian, Gary Gisselman and Lou Larson voting against the measure. Alderperson Dawn Herbst was not present.
A major sticking point was a demand by Melvin Companies, a construction materials and excavation company from Abbotsford, for $155,505.40 for a canceled contract to remove contaminated soil from the former mall site.
The soil removal contract was canceled by Chuck Ghidorzi, managing director for Wausau Opportunity Zone Inc., or WOZ, who was in contact with city staff while making the decision.
WOZ is a nonprofit that acquired the former Wausau Center mall site in 2020 through funding by two local foundations, the Dwight and Linda Davis Foundation and the Judd S. Alexander Foundation. It seeks to facilitate partnerships to redevelop the more than 300,000 square feet of downtown property formerly occupied by the mall, which was demolished in May 2021.
To resolve this, the council agreed to a cooperation agreement with WOZ that further clarified the relationship between the city and the philanthropic organization.
The contract with Melvin had a clause that allowed for cancellation for “convenience,” and the cooperation agreement affirmed that this clause was still applicable for both the city and WOZ.
Nick Patterson, a representative for T. Wall Enterprises, said the development had received approval of its building plan for Foundry on 3rd from the state and is now only waiting for the city’s approval. The project also cannot proceed until the city fulfills its obligation of removing the contaminated soil.
District 7 Alderperson Lisa Rasmussen said during discussion at Tuesday's meeting that the soil removal project would be rebid in the spring.
T. Wall Enterprises secured a development agreement for Foundry on 3rd with the city in September 2022. The first phase of the plan includes studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, over 17,000 feet of commercial space, underground parking, an interior courtyard and coworking spaces.
Moving the start date for the project back to June 1 would also push the completion date for the project back a year from Dec. 31, 2024, to Nov. 1, 2025, Patterson said at an earlier meeting.
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Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on Twitter @ErikPfantz.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Wausau City Council approves delayed start date Foundry on 3rd project
