SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (WHBL) -- There's going to be some extra costs to the city for the development of an apartment complex downtown.
That project is set to build a $10.3 million apartment complex on the site of the former Boston Store. However, when construction started, there was an unwelcome discovery on the site. City administrator Daryll Hoffland says initial excavation of the site found leftover debris from the old Pranges store. "When that building burnt down decades ago, all that rubbish was pushed down into that hole, and unfortunately as part of the project with underground parking, all of that needs to be pulled out." Estimates for that removal are coming in at around $500,000. That funding was transferred from the city's general fund to the Tax Incremental Financing district, and will be paid back over the lifetime of the district.
Hofland says that the construction will be worth it though. The new housing will not only bring residents and traffic downtown, but the city is planning to build a new concert and event space as part of the project. "It's such a high visitor location, we wanted to make sure that there was a pedestrian link between 8th Street and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center." The new space will operate in a similar manner to projects like the 400 Block in Wausau which offer up space for events, festivals nad outdoor concerts.
Construction on the apartment complex is set to start in June.