Eau Claire RDA approves 45-day extension for Riverside MOU; reviews Brownfields grant and Cannery District updates

The Eau Claire Redevelopment Authority on Feb. 19 approved year-end financial reports and voted to extend the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the Riverside site for 45 days while staff and the developer work through survey and design issues.

The vote followed a lengthy discussion about the developer’s continuing need to resolve a survey error and reconfigure a narrow site for a mixed-use project originally presented as roughly 21–24 residential units with six to eight ~300-square-foot commercial "live-work" spaces. Board members pressed for a shorter, more closely monitored extension than previous 90-day extensions; the board approved an amended extension period of 45 days with the expectation of progress reports during that period.

The financial report presented at the meeting showed operating and capital activity through Dec. 31, 2024 (with RDA activity through Jan. 31, 2025 noted as none since that date). Reported expenditures as of Dec. 31, 2024 included $76,039.73 in current expenditures and a set of smaller line items: $82.30 for postage and shipping, $47.10 for auditing, $154.79 in bond-related special services, $319.94 in water utilities, $29,490 in bond issue expenses, and $45,945.60 recorded as a loss on property related to land credits. Staff said some…