Eau Claire RDA advances plan for expanded redevelopment district; requests staff refine boundaries and pursue two focus areas

The Eau Claire Redevelopment Authority on June 18 directed staff to continue developing a proposed, city-area "expanded" redevelopment district intended to give the RDA a broader set of parcels to target for infill redevelopment and affordable housing. Board members also signaled support for pursuing a separate Southwest Industrial District for longer-term acquisition and redevelopment of heavy-industrial sites.

Staff described the expanded district as a hybrid that would include the Cannery District core, an extension north of Madison and Barstow, Banbury Place and adjacent downtown parcels, and a Southwest Industrial Quadrant west of the old Shopko plaza. Staff said most of the expanded area falls inside a HUD-designated qualified census tract and therefore captures many of the community's lower-income neighborhoods.

Presentations to the board included data compiled by consultants (Ayers and associates) on vacancy, property age and condition, household characteristics and public-safety metrics. Staff cited an estimate of 25,389 residents in the expanded area, about 10,367 households and a mean household size of 2.16. The staff slide deck reported that the highlighted green area accounts for 46% of police calls, 48% of crime reports and 65% of drug incidents citywide; staff presented those figures as indicators of underlying infrastructure and housing issues rather than causal findings.

Board members asked detailed questions about the southern boundary of the proposed district, whether the boundary should cross the Chippewa River to include properties south of Claremont, and how the district would interact with existing tax-increment districts (TIDs). Staff and the city attorney said an RDA district has no statutory time limit like some TIDs, that overlapping redevelopment districts are possible, and that creating a geographically broad RDA district does require making statutory findings about the area but does not require every property in the district to be blighted.

Several board members urged keeping a housing emphasis and using surgical, parcel-by-parcel work rather than assuming whole-district redevelopment. Staff said the RDA has begun compiling lists of high-priority parcels (vacant properties, out-of-state owners, health-inspection flags) and recommended pursuing infill, partnerships with the Housing Authority and nonprofit builders (Habitat for Humanity, Home for Good), and targeted acquisitions.

Financial questions were prominent. Staff said it had submitted a $1,000,000 request for RDA activities in the city capital-improvement plan (CIP) for the coming budget cycle; council review and a public hearing were scheduled next week. Board members emphasized the need to align the district strategy with available funding, and several said they wanted a refined boundary map overlaid with neighborhood lines and TID footprints before formal adoption.

The board also discussed condemnation and acquisition authority. Staff said the RDA has used acquisition tools in the past, often reaching voluntary agreements after initiating acquisition steps, but had not pursued involuntary takings in recent experience; board members asked for a future agenda item to review condemnation processes and policy implications.

Staff reported parallel work under an EPA Brownfields assessment grant, including planned Phase I environmental assessments for candidate sites (examples mentioned: the former Walter's Brewery building and a Malden Avenue site) and other planning tasks the grant will pay for. Staff encouraged property owners who might have redevelopment interest to volunteer sites for Phase I/II assessments covered by the grant.

By the end of discussion, the board signaled consensus to continue refining the expanded district approach and to also advance the Southwest Industrial Quadrant as a second focus area. Staff said it would return with more detailed maps, layered vacancy and inspection data, and a proposed formal district to carry to city council for consideration, with a target to have a district ready to take to council by the end of the year for implementation in 2026.

Next steps identified at the meeting include refined mapping (overlaying neighborhood boundaries and TIDs), continued Brownfields Phase I work on candidate properties, clarification from financial consultants on whether a particular TID could provide borrowed funding to the RDA, and an RDA review of condemnation authority as a future agenda item.