This is going to be brief, but not so brief. I have spoken to no few then 12 people in the last 10 days about the mall deal. 6 people called me, to talk to me. I find that sort of solicitation intoxicating for my ego.
Here is my thinking about the mall. I am going to do it in bullet points, because well, I had coffee after 8 pm.
-I am not at all concerned about the money. I learned that the money is not going to the developer, but instead going into a sort of bucket/escrot/title company from which the bills for the remodel get paid. This is not as simple as it seems, but at least we are not handing a guy 4 million bucks.
-I also learned that the bad part of the money is the very little money being put in by the mall owner. This deal is essentially the mall owner getting a LOT of unsecured money, when they cannot get money anywhere else for these changes. This is tough. The public v private balance on governmental development like this is sketchy if the private party does not have a lot of skin in the game.
-I think seeing downtown businesses lobbying tonight on social media to advocate for the mall deal just smacks of self interest, but is there any other interest.
-The mall could be great. I think. I mean I only know two people who work there, so as a result I want my friends to have a building to go work in. But, the other 500 people that are rumored to work at the mall, sorry I do not know you.
-I was in the Wausau Center mall 1 time in 2015. To eat Bourbon Chicken with my friend Dan. Otherwise, I did not go there.
So for me this is the essential question…. IS AN INDOOR MALL STILL A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL IN 2016? IS THIS A VIABLE THING ANYMORE?
I do not know for sure if it is or it is not. I do not know what to think. I mean were going to move one large retailer that I have not shopped at since high school (and got fat). That is going to leave a hole in another one.
When I was in college in Milwaukee, I would go to the mall on Brown Deer Avenue. I was young, and did not have anything else to do. It had a movie theatre. Our downtown does not have a movie theatre.
When I was a kid, I used to go to the mall and just hang out at Foot Locker. It is where I first saw the brand REEBOK. I also dunked a pair of socks on the faux basketball hoop there.
Who remembers the video arcade? I do. Dragon’s Lair?
I have good memories of the mall. But, I do not know if a mall is a sustainable thing in 2016. I just do not know what the argument for it is. Along those same lines, I have no idea what happens if we do not give these people the money. Do they abandon the mall? Then what?
So, we are faced with this…
- Is a Mall a valid and sustainable business for us all in 2016? Can it survive 10 years?
- Why isn’t CBL putting some skin (money) in the game? Or are they?
- What happens if we do not do this money to renovation?
It is simply amazing to me what the city of Wausau will and will not spend taxpayer money on…
Corporate welfare to the owners of the mall – Yep
Large item garbage pick up and mowing of lawns in parks – Nope
Pay to investigate the investigation of a council member being rude – Yep
Pay to investigate the cause behind the mis-actions that led to millions in lost federal funds for Thomas St – Nope
Pay to take care of sculptured metal birds in a road median – Yep
Pay to take care of stray cats in a humane manner – Nope
Most people with jobs with fiduciary responsibilities would be fired or arrested for decision making like that….
To answer your questions:
1. No. Malls are in decline all over this country. Downtown malls especially. See Port Plaza and Avenue mall. The mall you mention off of Brown Deer – Northridge – has been closed for some time.
2. They’re not putting any skin in the game because they don’t have to. The Wausau “leadership” got on their knees the second they smelled trouble at Wausau Center. CBL will be keeping their ‘Director of Aviation’ while they expect the city to pay for the marketing director at Wausau Center.
3. Nature runs its course. No matter what happens, both Sears and Younkers will fold. It’s just a matter of time. Both companies’ financials are nothing short of awful. The losses get bigger every quarter. Without the bailout, eventually CBL will unload the property – if it can – or it will go into foreclosure. The city owns the land, so the taxes should be paid for awhile. If the taxes quit being paid I suppose the city would foreclose. Eventually the thing gets re purposed to office or government space or they raze it.
I don’t see how throwing any amount of money at it will fix it. A movie theater isn’t going to fix it (we used to have one of those downtown, remember?) Money won’t fix it because we don’t shop there anymore.
Years ago, my mother would buy clothes for her family from the mall. Now she does a little shopping there for herself, but dad is gone and we kids are grown. My wife buys all of our family’s clothes online and to a lesser degree, Rib Mountain. That right there is the problem, and no matter how much money the city spends, my wife isn’t going to shop at the mall. Neither will I. It’s just plain inconvenient.
I predict that this will barely pass – maybe Tipple even cast a tie-breaking vote. Heads will roll in April. Who knows, maybe Kronenwetter, should he win, be able to put the brakes on this after the fact, like Walker did with the train.
The gods of consumption are very angry and require immense sacrifice for appeasement.
Barry, brilliance in a single sentence.
Noticed that today’s above the fold story in the Wausau Daily Herald, “What’s up with Ghidorzi property near Menard’s” points out the millions of dollars that Wausau is spending to support commercial real estate while neighborhoods that are NOT perceived as cash cows for the realtors get short shrift. Same old – why do you think the city, state and county are building all those shiny new roads? In my old neighbor hood on the East Side, the city of Wausau doesn’t bother to maintain the sidewalks or the curbs that are falling down the hill. All hail to the Chamber of Commerce and MCDEVCO.
Sorry, I failed to include the link:
“What’s up with Ghidorzi property near Menards”
“…The city promised nearly $1.5 million for the whole project, but won’t dish out a final $1 million until development takes off on the remaining part of the plot.”
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/local/2016/06/03/whats-up-ghidorzi-property-near-menards/85303510/
Follow the money!