Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Sporting goods chain Dunham’s Sports is the tenant looking to move into a portion of the vacant Kmart space in the Shawano Plaza, provided the property owner can get some financial assistance from the city.
Dunham’s would occupy roughly a third of the 87,000 square-foot space.
The tenant was confirmed Wednesday after a meeting of the Shawano Common Council by Dennis Heling, chief economic development officer of Shawano County Economic Progress Inc.
Heling did not have any information on how many employees the chain would hire here.
The council had been expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution to create a Tax Incremental Finance district for the Shawano Plaza that would allow the city to provide a grant and low-interest loan for remodeling of the property and some parking lot improvements.
However, the developer’s agreement with the city hadn’t been finalized, City Administrator Brian Knapp said, and the TIF resolution was postponed until the council’s next meeting.
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.
The Kmart 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 proposed TIF district would cover the entire Shawano Plaza, but only new development at the plaza would go toward paying off the TIF debt.
Knapp said the development agreement would require RCG Ventures to make a payment in lieu of taxes if the development does not meet the expected increase in assessed valuation that would be needed to pay off the TIF debt.
Heling said the city could provide roughly $450,000 in assistance through a potential grant and low-interest loan by creating a TIF district.
RCG Ventures is expecting to do about $2 million worth of renovations.
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.
Michigan-based Dunham’s Sports has a chain of about 200 stores, mostly in the Midwest.