BIG PLANS. This rendering shows an aerial view of the proposed Sevens development, looking west, with Interstate 94 at right. (Submitted image)

A $120 million, two-phase development project on Eau Claire’s south side has received initial approval from the Eau Claire City Council.

On Tuesday, March 26, the City Council OK’d a development agreement between the City of Eau Claire and Altoona-based Hoeft Builders, which plans to build a development called The Sevens on 30 acres on the south side of Interstate 94 and just west of U.S. Highway 53.

Luke Rykal, a vice president and partner at Hoeft Builders, compared The Sevens to Altoona’s multi-use River Prairie development, which his company had a hand in.

“It’s another opportunity to showcase Eau Claire as you come into town,” Rykal said of The Sevens. “We’re looking for this to be a Class A business park. We’re excited to bring the development that we did for the eastern quadrant of River Prairie to the south side of Eau Claire.”

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It’s another opportunity to showcase Eau Claire as you come into town.

LUKE RYKAL

VP AND PARTNER, HOEFT BUILDERS

The proposed location of The Sevens development, just south of Interstate 94 and west of U.S. 53.

Hoeft is currently headquartered in that part of River Prairie, and is responsible for numerous buildings in the neighborhood, including River Prairie Wellness Center and Orgel Wealth Management.

 City documents describe the first phase of the development as “a business park that will be the future headquarters of Hoeft Builders as well as a highly desirable location for office, medical, and other business purposes, along this highly visible location with convenient access and proximity to the commercial retail center of Oakwood Hills, and this growing portion of Eau Claire.” The mostly undeveloped site is across I-94 from Holiday Inn Eau Claire South. (The only building on the site currently is a former warehouse for Badger Liquor.)

Rykal said Hoeft Builders plans to begin the first step of the project, the construction of its new headquarters, later this year. He acknowledged fully developing The Sevens will be a long-term effort, taking as many as 10 years.

The second phase of the project will involve residential development, including what is described as a diverse mix of multi-unit housing at a range of lease prices. A development agreement for this phase of the project is expected to come to the City Council in about one month. This phase will also include a bicycle and pedestrian bridge crossing the interstate and connecting the new development to the Oakwood Hills neighborhood to the north. 

An artist's conception of planned new headquarters of Hoeft Builders, which will be part of The Sevens project.

According to city documents, a new Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District will “be created to support project infrastructure, including the overpass, street, trail, and other allowed project costs.”

While such TIF districts are sometimes used to revitalize areas that are deemed blighted – such as the city’s redevelopment of the Phoenix Park and North Barstow Street area – they are also commonly used to promote mixed-use and industrial development, as in this case, explained Eau Claire City Attorney Steve Nick.

Under the just-approved development agreement – and the one that is expected to be considered in the near future for the project’s second phase – the developers will pledge that the completed project will have an assessed value of at least $122 million, Nick said. For scale, the previous largest development agreement reach between the city and a developer was for approximately $60 million with P&R Companies of Duluth, Minnesota, which is now building an apartment complex in the city’s Cannery District.

“We expect this project to take some time to fully build out as well, but the scope shouldn’t be lost of folks,” Nick said of The Sevens. Considering the site’s location along several transportation corridors, Nick noted that it’s a prime location for new health care facilities, which the region will need in the wake of the closure of HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital and Prevea Clinics in the area.

“This is now a shovel-ready project that could be the new home of another hospital in the community,” Nick said.

Properties within the new development are being offered for sale or lease by Commonweal Development, which has advertised lot sizes of 2-5 acres aimed at office, retail, and hospitality businesses.

Learn more about The Sevens development at commonwealdc.com/properties.