Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The owners of the vacant Kmart property in Shawano are proposing to split the space into three sections to accommodate three retail businesses, but their plan could require some assistance from the city.
The proposal was shared at a recent meeting of the Shawano Industrial and Commercial Development Committee.
The Shawano Kmart at 1211 E. Green Bay St. closed in July 2014, laying off 55 employees. It had been in business at that location since 1989.
The store was part of the Shawano Plaza, which is owned and managed by Atlanta-based RCG Ventures, LLC, a privately funded real estate investment group that acquires and develops commercial real estate.
The cost of renovating the roughly 87,000 square-foot Kmart space into three smaller retail spaces was estimated at between $1.6 million and $2 million.
Dennis Heling, chief economic development officer of Shawano County Economic Progress Inc., said the owners have reported they have a committed tenant for one of the spaces and a potential for a second.
Heling said the owners described financial assistance from the city as “fundamental” to the renovation project.
There was discussion at the committee meeting about whether a Tax Incremental Finance district could be created for the Shawano Plaza that could allow the city to provide a grant to the owners for renovation.
TIF districts are areas where municipalities invest in infrastructure, such as sewer and water, to attract development where it might not otherwise occur, or to make improvements, such as eliminating blight.
Whatever increase in tax revenue that results from development in those districts goes to paying back the debt the municipality incurred from making improvements to the district.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said the city would be willing to consider a TIF district for the Shawano Plaza “if it makes sense for the owners and for the city.”