Wausau committees approve 50‑unit affordable housing deal at 700 Grand Avenue

Wausau finance and economic development committees on March 25 approved a purchase and development agreement with 700 Grand Apartments LLC (formerly Commonwealth Development) to build a 50‑unit affordable multifamily complex at 700–816 Grand Avenue.

The agreement calls for the city to provide $1,840,000 from the affordable housing extension fund to fill a financing gap; the developer expects to use Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and other private financing. The project’s completion date in the agreement is Dec. 31, 2026. The city also agreed to a $60,000 contingency from the same fund to help cover environmental cleanup costs if brownfield remediation exceeds expected grant support.

The project drew extended discussion at the joint session because of environmental and traffic concerns. Randy (city staff) summarized the environmental review process and said the developer has completed a Phase I and Phase II assessment, submitted a site investigation work plan (SIWP) to the Wisconsin DNR, and is awaiting DNR sign‑off on the site investigation report (SIR). “Their drillings now exceed about 30 different test pits, and throughout all those test pits,…