Development

Search for Transit Hub Site Narrows to Downtown Lot

Tom Giffey, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

The Eau Claire City Council recently approved a resolution giving Oregon, Wisconsin-based Gorman and Co. the exclusive right to negotiate with the city to build a transit center on a city-owned parking lot on Farwell Street, next to the historic Schlegelmilch House.
The Eau Claire City Council recently approved a resolution giving Oregon, Wisconsin-based Gorman and Co. the exclusive right to negotiate with the city to build a transit center on a city-owned parking lot on Farwell Street, next to the historic Schlegelmilch House.

A company that built a mixed-use public transit center in La Crosse that includes apartments and commercial space is in negotiations to build a similar facility in downtown Eau Claire.

The Eau Claire City Council recently approved a resolution giving Oregon, Wisconsin-based Gorman and Co. the exclusive right to negotiate with the city to build a transit center on a city-owned parking lot on Farwell Street, next to the historic Schlegelmilch House. The site, also sometimes referred to as the Wood Motors lot, was one of nine potential transit center sites identified in a study completed last year. If and when it is built, the new transit center would replace the current structure, a Spartan concrete-block building on the 400 block of South Farwell, which was meant to be temporary when it was built in 1984.

“It’s a somewhat unique facility, being a combination transit transfer facility, mixed-use, and housing.” – Jay Winzenz, City of Eau Claire finance director, on the proposed transit center

Jackie Pavelski, chairwoman of the city’s Transit Commission, said the current bus hub – which is unheated and lacks restrooms or other amenities – no longer meets the city’s needs and is considered an eyesore by some. 

Last year, the city issued a request for proposal to developers to come up with plans to build a new hub for the city’s bus system. Gorman was the only company to respond, and the only site they were interested in considering was the Wood Motors lot.

City Financial Director Jay Winzenz said he wasn’t surprised that only one of the sites drew a developer’s interest. “It’s a somewhat unique facility, being a combination transit transfer facility, mixed-use, and housing,” he said. The other sites identified in the study – which include the block across North Barstow Street from the so-called Block 7 parking lot, as well as another block on North Barstow that includes a parking lot along the Eau Claire River – post more challenges to potential developers, particularly the fact that they would require the acquisition of private property. By contrast, the Wood Motors lot is owned by the city.

The city set rough parameters for the project: It would include 66 residential units, some reserved for low-income residents; 100 parking spaces; 18,000 square feet of commercial space; 4,000 square feet of space for the transit center; and room for a dozen city buses.

Winzenz noted that the City Council’s Jan. 10 vote is only a first step. In the coming months, city staffers will work with Gorman to create a site plan for the project. Next, the developer will apply for low-income housing tax credits and federal transportation investment grants to help fund the project. Currently, the city’s 2017 capital budget includes $6.25 million for the transit center, including $5 million from such grants, with the balance coming from the city itself and other sources. In a best-case scenario, ground could be broken on the new facility in the spring of 2018, Winzenz said.

Pavelski, the Transit Commission chairwoman, said she was surprised that only one site drew a developer’s attention. Considering that growing numbers of young Americans are eschewing car ownership, Pavelski believes public transportation is only going to become more important in the future. “If I had any misgivings (about the project), my only thought is will it be big enough that it will meet those future needs,” she said.

The City Council approved the resolution on an 8-1 vote. The only council member to vote against the measure was Kate Beaton. In an interview, Beaton said she had hoped the City Council would wait to get more input from the Transit Commission as well as from transit users before giving the go-ahead on negotiations. “To me, the community was clearly crying out for involvement,” she said. In addition, Beaton said she was disappointed developers weren’t interested in the other proposed sites.

That being said, however, she said she’s supportive of building a new transit center, especially one that includes affordable housing. “I think anything we do is going to be an improvement to our transit system,” Beaton said. “That structure we have there is simply inadequate.”