Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The owner of a residential property located within the Shawano Redevelopment Authority’s proposed blight elimination district wants to know whether the city is interested in acquiring the property.
The Shawano Plan Commission on Wednesday will discuss what if any action should be taken regarding the property at 228 S. Washington St.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said the property owner, Shannon Heling, contacted the city after learning it was included within the proposed RDA district and asked what the city was expecting in terms of improvements to the property.
The property was determined to be blighted due to the need for exterior updates, including peeling paint and a deteriorating facade.
Knapp said Heling then asked whether the city would have any interest in purchasing it, given that it is located next to a city parking lot and just across the street from Franklin Park, where the farmers market operates.
Knapp said plan commission officials will take up that question Wednesday.
The multi-family residence is one of nearly 200 properties in the proposed RDA district where blighted conditions were observed, according to a study done for the RDA by consulting firm Vierbicher, though it’s not among the 13 areas the RDA considers a priority.
There are 391 properties within the boundaries of the proposed district. Just over half of them are considered blighted or in need of redevelopment.
Blighted conditions described in the RDA project plan include windows in poor condition, peeling paint, exposed wood, rusted metal, boarded-up storefronts and bricked up windows, broken awnings, cracked and crumbling facades, abandoned signage, and outdoor dumping of garbage and debris.
The plan commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 127 S. Sawyer St.
The meeting will kick off with a public hearing on a conditional use permit that would allow Belmark Inc. to construct a flexible packaging plant on 15 acres of city-owned property in an undeveloped area north of County Road B, east of Waukechon Street and west of Industrial Drive.