Wausau committee accepts single bid for infill house at 1019 W. Bridge Street amid cost concerns

The City of Wausau Economic Development Committee on Jan. 7 voted 3-2 to accept a single bid from Lutke & Associates for a single-family infill house at 1019 West Bridge Street and to forward the bid to the City Council with staff due diligence before council action.

Staff said the parcel received one bid after multiple solicitations; the project is intended to use a mix of federal and local funds for affordable housing, including ARPA and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars. Committee members debated whether the bid price is appropriate given available funding and comparable market options.

Community Development Manager Tammy Straatz told the committee she welcomed questions and noted the city received only one bid after four solicitations: "Unfortunately, we only received 1 bid. However, we're ecstatic that we received 1 bid," she said, adding that modular construction was proposed so CDBG funds (which cannot pay for new construction) could be used to acquire the house package and stretch ARPA funds.

Committee members raised a range of financial and programmatic concerns. Alder Killian and Alder Tierney argued the bid felt too high relative to resale values and suggested alternatives such as moving an existing home or rehabbing an existing structure. Ald. Killian said, "To spend $350,000 and have the sale price be half of that, it doesn't feel like a good city policy to continue to do that." Ald. Tierney and others cited recent comparable listings and past city projects to argue the gap between build cost and sale price would be large.

Straatz described the city's proposed resale and subsidy structure intended to preserve affordability and recoup funds for future projects. As she explained, the city would record a deferred second mortgage to capture the gap between construction cost and sale price: "We would do kind of what Habitat does...we would put a mortgage against it for 150,000...for the 1st 5 years none of it is forgiven. If they sell within the 1st 5 years they have to pay us back sales price plus that gap. And then in order to help them get their equity every year thereafter we would forgive about $13,000 but it would be a 20 year mortgage." Straatz also said the buyer income limits and monthly-payment assumptions (using HUD guidance) suggest a sale price much lower than the bid would make the house unaffordable to target buyers.

Supporters of moving forward said using the available federal funds now could produce more affordable units than leaving funds unused. Alder Henke argued the city must act to create housing: "I'm getting sick and tired of us not going forward and having a chance to actually build some affordable housing and to make a difference." Randy Pfeiffer and other staff noted the lot is an infill parcel that is difficult to build on and that modular construction could shorten on-site work; staff also said the bidder proposed a timeline that could finish by the end of summer, subject to contract terms.

After discussion, Ald. Henke moved to accept the Lutke bid and forward it to council while staff completes due diligence; Ald. Gisselman seconded. The motion passed 3–2. Ald. Killian and Ald. Tierney recorded votes against the motion; Henke, Gisselman and one other member voted in favor. Staff said they would verify contractor references, confirm timeline and include change-order controls before council review.

What’s next: The accepted bid will be forwarded to Council with staff due diligence and a recommended contract; staff noted several funding sources (ARPA, CDBG, WEDA and a TIF extension) that would be used to close the funding gap if the council approves moving forward.