Commercial Development on Former School Site Announced
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS: Kathy Schlieve, City of Waupun 920-324-7920 or Kathy@cityofwaupun.org
Waupun, Wis. – The Waupun Common Council recently approved a land sale with Second Century, LLC, to develop a .4 acre parcel along Washington Avenue. In July the city completed demolition of the former Meadowview Elementary School that sat on a 4.2 acre parcel of land along the city’s east side, near US 151. The new development will be located on the northeast corner of the former Meadowview parcel, along Washington Avenue. The developer will construct a 1,500-square-foot professional office building that will be home to an Edward Jones office owned by Adam Vande Slunt. Vande Slunt initially began working with the city more than a year ago to search for a new site for his business. According to Vande Slunt, “The new Edward Jones building represents our commitment to the community now and for years to come. All of the branches in Waupun thank the citizens of Waupun for the past 30 years of trust and confidence."
Initially the city was working to attract a larger box retailer to the site. According to Kathy Schlieve, city administrator and director of economic development for the City of Waupun, “landing a retailer for this site had been a goal since the city acquired the land from Waupun Area School District almost ten years ago.” While the city came close several times to accomplishing that, Schlieve indicated that the incentives required to make such a project happen just did not make good fiscal sense for the community.
Schlieve continued, “While we haven’t eliminated the possibility of a retail development for this site or our community, we could not ignore the impact internet sales are having on retailers and what that meant to the future of brick and mortar stores. So we altered our strategy and turned our efforts toward smaller, commercial users on the former Meadowview school site.”
In June the Waupun Plan Commission approved a new survey for the site, paving the way for commercial users like the Edward Jones project to begin development. Schlieve shared that the city is currently working on two additional opportunities to bring further development to the site. For additional information about development opportunities in Waupun, please contact Schlieve at (920) 324-7912.
About Edward Jones: Edward Jones is a financial service firm with more than 13,000 offices. More than 7 million clients enjoy the benefits of working with a firm that is focused on the needs of individual investors. Edward Jones uses a personalized approach and an established process to help clients reach their long term financial goals.
About the City of Waupun: The City of Waupun is centrally located along the US 151 corridor within a one-hour drive of Madison, Milwaukee and the Fox Cities and is positioned to support economic growth with available industrial, residential and commercial properties for development. The community’s Downtown Business District is being revitalized with an ongoing commitment to historic preservation, programming to support business improvement, and expanding resources designed to help entrepreneurs.
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