What's on Second?

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jan 17, 1999

Lee Rasch clearly remembers his cab ride down Second Street on the way to the Radisson, where' he stayed during his job interview 10 years ago.

"I wondered why some areas like Harborview were so well developed, while others were vacant or industrial," he said. "After the interview, I walked around downtown and wondered why some things had been let go. I considered hesitating about taking the job, out of concern the city had some deep-seated issues."

Rasch accepted the job, as president of Western Wisconsin Technical College. He also became a major player in revitalizing downtown as head of City Vision 2000's Project Management Team. The team seeks to turn the vision plan, adopted in concept by the La Crosse Common Council in 1995, into reality by prioritizing items each year and asking the council to budget them.

Much has happened on Second Street, and in the Riverside Redevelopment Area bounded by the Mississippi River, Third Street, the La Crosse River/La Crosse Street and State Street, since Rasch's 1989 cab ride.

The latest development occurred last week, when the council approved grants giving the go ahead for a CenturyTel regional that will have 350 to 450 job, between Riverside Park and the Freight House Restaurant. The council also approved a rezoning that changes the area from a mix of heavy and light industrial to community business, which calls for development such as hotels, offices and restaurants.

The intensity of debate on the CenturyTel deals shows that developers know the time is ripe for the land between downtown and the river, and they want a piece of the action.

Second Street is hot.

Pioneer projects, and the city's investment in what planners term "infrastructure' street improvements, historical light, brick sidewalks, and storm sewers -- have created the energy to spur further development.

"We have these unique things downtown, the river and a concentration of small businesses, said Downtown Mainstreet Inc. executive director Bud Miyamoto. "The three things that really needed to take place -- recruitment of large, high-tech companies, development of tourism opportunities and development of a residential base--are happening. Because of those, we will be able to create unique stores, entertainment facilities and additional services."

It would have been cheaper and probably less difficult to locate north of the city because the company would have dealt with one private developer rather than a municipal government, said Duane Ring Jr., vice president of CenturyTel's Wisconsin Division. "But we want to be part of the downtown business district and of the revitalization of downtown. It already is the financial center of the community. It is a great location. It's right by the river, and it's close to downtown where our employees can go on their lunch hour. In the long run, we think the benefits to us and our employees are greater than if we were out in a suburb."

THE ACCELERATION

Since the 1970s, the street has slowly changed from the city's former riverside warehouse and factory district, crisscrossed by railroad tracks, and bordered by hotels, taverns and brothels. The revitalization started in the 1970s, with the Harborview project on 11 acres in the southwest portion of downtown bordered by State, Mount Vernon, Second and Front streets. The 1978 restoration of the old Milwaukee Road freighthouse into the Freight House Restaurant was a pioneer on the northern end.

Since then, development has been sporadic, including renovation of the former W.A. Roosevelt Building, 230 N. Front St. into AlliedSignal offices in 1988 and renovation of Mike's Building Supply, 100 King St., in 1992.

The pace quickened in 1994, when the Wettsteins renovated the former La Crosse Plow Co., 300 Second St. into spaces for its Lighting Design and Business Technologies plus offices upstairs, and Colleen Campbell renovated the Ross Furniture Building, 101 State St.

Revitalization of the area seemed to turn the come in 1996 with the opening of RiverPlace One apartments, completion of the Pearl Street streetscaping leading people from downtown to the river, the opening of the Governmental Employees Credit Union at Third and La Crosse streets, and an expansion of the La Crosse Tribune.

Last year, RiverPlace One was assessed at almost a million more than the $3 million tax base Jay Hoeschler promised, and it resulted in about $115,000 taxes for 1998.

The city is seeing the results of the early developments, Hoescher said. "As the neighborhood improves in appearance and use, you get more people interested in investing, which is exactly what the Vision 2000 plan is seeking. A vision works. It's not just something on paper. It's results in real development with real tax base and real jobs. We have halted the downward slide of assessed value in downtown property."

In spring of 1997, the Riverwalk refurbishing was completed, and in June, 1997, the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. riverboats began stopping in La Crosse. Last May, the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites opened at Pearl and Second streets, and last September, community leaders broke ground for a $14.3 million addition to the La Crosse Center.