Hey, remember all those pretty pictures of pretty building proposals for the area that used to house downtown Menomonie’s Leevers Foods grocery store? Tear ‘em up.

 

Un-remember you saw this.

Last July, we boldly proclaimed, the decision is finally in: downtown Menomonie will soon be home to a spankin’ new, multi-million dollar mixed-use housing and retail complex. The 250-bed, four-story building was to offer student housing and first-floor commercial development. And this was after a controversial veto from Menomonie mayor Randy Knaack had been overturned by a 10-0 city council vote.

But all that proclaiming was all for naught. Yesterday, the Leader-Telegram reported that the company developing the project has basically said, “Meh. No thanks.”

AHMC Asset Management of Eau Claire, representing Gateway Village LLC, is seeking to cancel a multimillion-dollar planned unit development for a controversial 250-bed mixed housing and commercial development at the site.

The city Plan Commission Monday night recommended the City Council do just that next Monday.

... Plan Commission member Sue Beety, who also is on the City Council, made the motion to recommend the project's cancellation "reluctantly," she said.

"This was a nice project," she added.

Leader-Telegram, 2-28-11

Indeed, Plan Commission member Sue Beety, indeed. But take heart, because AHMC CEO Cary Osborn hasn’t given up on the site – he’s saying they’d just like to start over and formulate a new plan, this time working with organizations focused on downtown revitalization (more on all that bizness right here). Recently, he told Menomonie’s city administrator that a lawsuit from citizens opposing the project – Concerned Property Owners of Menomonie – and some other sticking points were leading them to seek new ideas for the site.

Let's hope these ideas are awesome.