New Apartment Proposal Adds to Cannery District Momentum
E.C. City Council to consider project next to redevelopment area
The latest proposal for Eau Claire’s Cannery District redevelopment area isn’t actually inside the Cannery District.
The plan to create a two-building, 36-unit apartment complex along Third Street is technically across the street from the Cannery District, which encompasses 41.5 acres on the west bank of the Chippewa River.
The apartment development proposal by Valley Investment Partners was approved by the city’s Plan Commission July 17. The fact it’s called the Cannery West Apartments demonstrates that the Cannery District has captured the public’s attention, said Aaron White, the city’s community development director.
“I’m not surprised that some of the surrounding properties are using it to build some brand awareness,” White said of the Cannery District’s buzz.
The plan calls for one building with 19 units and a second with 17 units. The apartments will be a combination of one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as studios.
The project still needs approval by the Eau Claire City Council because it will require a zoning change: The property, formerly a parking lot, is zoned for commercial use, not residential development. The City Council will considering the rezoning request at its meeting on Tuesday, July 25.
The site, 2125 Third St., was the former parking lot for The Classic Garage, a 1950s-themed diner, which has been replaced by 5th Row Lifting Co., a gym that doesn’t need as much parking. Valley Investment Partners, which is developing the apartments, is registered to Richard Payton, who owned The Classic Garage.
OTHER CANNERY PROJECTS PROCEED
The apartment project is only one of the many projects underway in and around the Cannery District. The neighborhood – so named because it was home to the Lange Canning Co. in the early 20th century – is already home to the Brewing Projekt and the Eau Claire Children’s Theatre. Just down North Oxford Avenue, the second phase of The Current apartment complex – this one designed to include units affordable to low-income renters – is going through the final inspection process, White said.
Nearby, a lot just north of the Brewing Projekt had been the subject of a memorandum of understanding between the city Redevelopment Authority and Ambient Inks, an Eau Claire printing business. However, that agreement recently expired after the business determined it wasn’t feasible to build what they wanted to on the site, White said.
Another project is still moving ahead: Just beyond the Oxford Avenue roundabout – in what is now a large vacant area – P&R Properties of Duluth, Minnesota, will soon break ground on the first phase of a two-building development that will ultimately include 260 apartments. The first building will be entirely residential, while the second is expected to include apartments as well as commercial space, White said.
Meanwhile, a new neighborhood park is under construction at the corner of Maple and First streets. Once completed, the park will replace the existing Kessler Park, which is directly across First Street. After that, White explained, Kessler Park will be put on the market for redevelopment.
Two other residential developments at the north end of the Cannery are also in the pipeline:
- On a plot of land known as The Heights, which lies between First Street and the bike trail that connects to the High Bridge, a developer called Silver Creek Equity has a memorandum of understanding with the city to create a 55-plus apartment complex. Financial details of the deal are still to be finalized, and the density might be reduced from the original 140 apartments to about 104, White said.
- On the other side of First Street, GRIP Development has plans to built a cluster of 10 twin homes to be called the Townhomes at Cannery Crossing.
