Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
A request for proposals for the future use of the former Shawano Medical Center has brought in offers from two developers, both interested in multi-unit, residential housing, according to city officials.
Shawano Medical Center closed its doors last year and relocated to County Road B as the new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano.
The city and ThedaCare have been working in partnership during the past two years to find redevelopment opportunities for the site at 309 N. Bartlett St.
They issued requests for proposals to developers earlier this year. The deadline for proposals was Sept. 30.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said the city would meet with ThedaCare officials to discuss the proposals, and recommendations would be made to the Shawano Industrial and Commercial Development Commission and Shawano Plan Commission.
Knapp said both proposals involve multi-unit, residential housing, but “each has other elements associated with them.”
He said he couldn’t go into further detail because of confidentiality agreements.
Knapp said a decision on which proposal to move forward with is expected by the end of the year.
An ad hoc task force that studied future possible uses for the property three 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.
Last year, there was a development plan to convert the building into a medical residency training center, but those plans fell apart after objections from ThedaCare, which viewed it as potentially competing with the new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano.
The Menominee Indian Tribe also showed interest in the building, but eventually pulled out of plans to convert the building into a multi-use facility.
Another option was offered by Todd Dobberstein, who led a citizen’s group proposing that the former hospital site be converted into a multi-use community center.
However, Dobberstein told the Shawano Plan Commission in March that all the developers he had talked to had recommended demolishing the hospital building and starting from scratch.
He said at the time he was continuing to work with a developer on possibilities for the site, which could also include other options such as multi-family housing and a restaurant.
The hospital building was razed at ThedaCare’s expense under an agreement with the city earlier this year.
The city owns a roughly 3.5-acre parcel of the property that became home to the original Shawano Medical Center in 1931 and was leased from the city. Shawano Medical Center purchased additional land for expansion over the years.
The property consists of about 10 acres overlooking the Wolf River near downtown Shawano.