Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The future use of the former Shawano Medical Center property appears to still be in limbo after a meeting between city and ThedaCare officials Thursday.
Neither side is commenting on the discussions, saying only that the talks will continue. The next meeting date has not been set.
The renewed talks come two months after ThedaCare refused to sign on to a deal that would have allowed the vacant hospital to become a medical training facility, which ThedaCare officials called a competing, duplicated health care system.
Meanwhile, a citizens group is pushing forward with its plans to turn the hospital building into a community center.
Todd Dobberstein, who is heading up that effort, recently told the Shawano Common Council that some of the possibilities include meeting space for local nonprofit groups, educational space for area wellness programs, a training facility, a new indoor pool, and indoor volleyball and basketball courts.
In an interview Friday, Dobberstein said a local Boys and Girls Club, a handicapped-accessible therapeutic pool and an Alzheimer’s treatment center were additional amenities he could envision.
Dobberstein said the possibilities are wide open at this point, but a specific plan would be forthcoming.
He said he is planning a public educational meeting within the next couple of weeks at which a steering committee and project finance committee would be assembled. The date of the meeting is not yet set.
Once more detailed plans are put in place, Dobberstein said, the concept would be shopped to developers.
Dobberstein said a key component of the concept is that the community center be complemented by some type of development that would add to the city’s tax base.
“It would be part of a larger development,” he said, “so we don’t make this a tax burden for the city.”
Dobberstein said he wants to ensure that the project is financially sustainable.
Dobberstein is also hoping that the Shawano Park and Recreation Department will become part of the project. He said he would like to see park and rec move to the new community center.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said there have been several meetings with Dobberstein to discuss the proposal, the process for moving forward, and the city’s expectations for the former hospital property.
Knapp said the proposed community center “could be a very nice amenity,” but a few things would have to be ensured to get the city’s support.
“It’s important that it be able to sustain itself financially,” Knapp said.
He said it would also have to be clear that this was not strictly a city project.
“The city’s involvement would be just one of many components,” Knapp said.
Knapp was dubious, however, about the idea of moving the Park and Recreation Department to the proposed community center.
“We have a rec center,” he said. “It’s seeing its age, but it’s functional and well-maintained.”
Knapp said there are numerous other park and recreation priorities that have been identified and will require significant city investment.
Relocating the department, he said, “wasn’t on the calender for quite a few years.”
If Dobberstein’s idea were to go forward, it would require approval by the Shawano Park and Recreation Commission, Plan Commission and Common Council.
“We’re interested in working with the community group on a plan,” Knapp said, “but it’s too early to say whether the city can be involved.”
Jeffrey Remsik, a ThedaCare spokesperson who has been a consultant on development proposals for the former hospital property, said ThedaCare officials have also met with Dobberstein.
“We’re supportive of the project, and we look forward to getting more details on his proposal,” Remsik said.
Remsik said ThedaCare shares the city’s goal of wanting to find a development that would have the best economic impact for the community in terms of job creation and growing the tax base.
Remsik said those goals could be accomplished if the proposed community center were part of a larger development, such as a senior living community. He said there are senior living communities in Southeast Wisconsin that have community centers also available to the public.
Capri Senior Communities, of Waukesha, was one of two developers that brought forward proposals that were considered for the former hospital property earlier this year.
The city has never identified the developer because of closed session discussions, describing it only as assisted living, but Remsik identified the developer during an interview in August.
City officials have previously said the development was rejected because of the terms being proposed, including requiring that the city raze the hospital building at an estimated cost of $1.5 million.
The city and ThedaCare also would not have been reimbursed for the roughly $380,000 in expenses spent on clearing the title to and marketing the hospital property.
The medical residency training center proposal included reimbursing the city and ThedaCare for those costs.
The city owns a roughly 3.5-acre parcel of the property that was became home to the original Shawano Medical Center in 1931 and was leased from the city.
SMC purchased additional land for expansion over the years, and the hospital campus now occupies about 10 acres.
An ad hoc task force that studied future possible uses for the property two years ago recommended options that included a waterfront supper club and lodge and a mix of condominiums and town homes, along with additional green space and a park shelter, and two single-family residential lots.
Knapp said a property developed along those lines could add anywhere from $5 million to $10 million to the tax base.