STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — The Stevens Point Plan Commission has approved plans for a new retail development in a largely vacant parcel near the Interstate 39/US Highway 10 East intersection.
Cory Presnick with CORTA Stevens Point says they have some big plans for the area, but first, they need to spruce it up. “I think it’s important to build some mass, build some momentum here in this blighted property,” said Presnick. “We’re really trying to get to the second phase where we can reconstruct infrastructure and parking, but right now we are trying to get things off the ground.”
Those improvements include a reworking and restriping of the parking lot and the addition of loading docks to help bring in new retail development. The property, located at 5601 US Highway 10, currently houses a Dunham’s Sports store but the remainder is vacant.
Another 9,600 square feet of retail space would also be built at the site. Presnick said the parcel would be divided among as many as three new retailers. Two of those have already signed leases, and he says a third is “not far behind.” He declined to name the retailers but did promise the commission that the development would be filled.
He also promised to landscape the lot appropriately, something that was requested by multiple members of the Commission including Matthew Rice, who said it was about time something was done with the property.
“It would be nice to see something happen to this building which has been underutilized for, probably, going on a decade,” said Rice.
The plans passed the commission unanimously. Presnick did not provide a timeline for when improvements will begin, or when there will be an announcement regarding new retailers for the space.
