254 S Chestnut Street / Old Junior High Building
The old junior high building, located at 254 S Chestnut Street, has been the “elephant” in the community for several years. The property was sold by the school district for $1 in 2005 in good faith that it would become a dinner theatre, then sold to a close-out warehouse company (where it was later condemned, with 16 tons of rotting food inside https://bit.ly/3MslaC3), then sold to the last owners who were using it as a salvage storage facility. It has a long and challenging past. Year after year the property has continued to deteriorate and generate many complaints to the village and police department.
The property was not only an eyesore but a drain on our property tax base. A property that could be producing a tax base of $50,000-$100,000 each year has only been generating $2500. The topic of “the old junior high” came up time and again during our comprehensive plan update (Spring 2022), ranking at or near the top of the list of issues residents would like to see addressed in our community. Overwhelmingly, residents want this issue dealt with once and for all.
The last owners of the property contacted the Village in April 2022 expressing an interest in selling and asking if the Village was interested in purchasing the property. The Village Board approved to extend a purchase agreement at the May 2, 2022 board meeting for $25,000 (the amount of the last property sale 10 years ago). The offer was accepted. The Village used a portion of our American Rescue Act Plan (ARPA) funds for this purchase, so these dollars will not come out of the general fund. The sale closed on August 1, 2022.
The Joint TID Review Board and the Village Board approved the creation of TID 12 at this site in August 2022.
In October 2023, the Village Board approved a bid for $481,470 from The MRD Group, Inc out of Milwaukee for demolition of the Old Junior High building. The Board also approved $25,000 to have non-contaminated materials crushed on-site, which will be a cost savings to having it trucked and crushed off-site. The Village was also awarded a $150,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to put towards demolition. Demolition of the old junior high building started in November 2023 and concluded in February 2024.
Please see the below attachments for more information on this project.
Redevelopment Proposals
The Village of Ellsworth put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) of redevelopment of the Old Junior High site. The RFP closed on July 1, 2024. See below for a summary of the three proposals that were submitted. These proposals were discussed at the July 18 Community Development Authority (CDA) meeting and again at the July 31 CDA meeting. The CDA recommended the C&E Wurzer proposal as the first choice, followed by the WHPC proposal to the Village Board.
Proposal Selection
The Village Board held a special board meeting on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. The Board approved moving forward with the C&E Wurzer (revised) proposal below.