Eau Claire RDA previews large affordable-housing redevelopment district, seeks metrics and legal review

The Eau Claire Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday reviewed a draft plan to create a new, broad redevelopment district focused primarily on affordable housing and selective property remediation.

Staff presented a roughly 11‑page draft that maps a district including the Shawtown neighborhood, areas north of Madison Street and parts of Third Ward, and noted that a majority of the core area falls inside one or more qualified census tracts (QCTs). The plan frames the district’s purpose around blight removal, increasing housing for households earning below the county median income and selective, site‑by‑site redevelopment rather than large‑scale clearance.

The draft identifies specific potential commercial targets, including an abandoned dry cleaner on Seager Street that may have brownfield concerns and a former meat‑packing plant referred to as the Wisconsin HVAC building, and notes riverfront and floodplain constraints along the Chippewa River.

Why it matters: staff told the board the district would be the largest redevelopment area the authority has proposed to date and could allow the RDA to use its financing tools —…