Something’s brewing

Wood County taps its potential

By Jennifer Pfaff

The Boson Co. Inc., Marshfield, is transforming the former Parkin Dairy in Marshfield into the Central Waters BrewPub. Photo courtesy of Central Waters BrewPub

The city of Marshfield has a new grocery store, a new hotel/conference center and a new bank.

In fact, according to Amber Miller, the city’s director of planning and economic development, Marshfield has seen $20 million in development in a three-block area in recent years.

Yet, when Marshfield resident Paul Meier looked around his hometown, there was something missing.

So he gathered up some partners and set to work filling the void. And now, Central Waters BrewPub is set to open in Sept-ember, turning a historic dairy retailer into a modern tavern and restaurant.

The endeavor is just one of many projects breathing life into Wood County’s economy this year.

Meier and his wife, Rita, joined Tom and Paula Hinke and Joe and Cari Loos to form LHM BrewPub LLC, and they’ve pulled in the Central Waters Brewing Co. and West 14th Restaurant to provide the fare.

For the past year, LHM has worked to give Parkin Dairy federal and state historic designations to protect the circa 1940 building from future alterations, said Rita Meier.

“We want to keep historic buildings in this town,” she said. “The designations now require the building to be kept as it is.”

It also gives the owners access to grant money to help cover the extra costs that preservation restrictions require. The Boson Co. Inc., Marshfield, is renovating the building’s interior and sprucing up the exterior.

A seven-barrel brew system arrives at the Central Waters BrewPub in Marshfield. The pub is scheduled to open in September. Photo courtesy of Central Waters BrewPub

Although the building must retain its original look, some changes are needed. The old garage doors, once used to receive shipments, are being replaced with new ones, which will be fixed in place rather than functional, Rita Meier said. The owners are putting in new plumbing, pressure-washing the exterior walls and repairing glass-block windows.

When complete, the pub will function on the first floor, and West 14th will operate on the second floor.

New businesses like the brew pub are welcome additions to Marshfield, Miller said. But a much larger part of the city’s growth, between 80 percent and 85 percent, comes from existing businesses.

The city’s business park is getting ready to welcome a new office building for Alliance Collection Agencies Inc. The company has been operating out of Marshfield since its inception in the 1940s.

Also a project by The Boson Co., the 20,000-square-foot facility’s construction started in mid-June. The six-month project will culminate in an office that is more than twice the size of Alliance’s current Marshfield location, said Dan O’Connell, president of Alliance Collections.

The company has seen a 20 percent to 25 percent growth rate in past years, and it needed a facility to match its existing and future needs, he said. The business park offered a fully developed site at the right price.

Built into the building’s design are options for needed security systems, a backup generator and other high-tech components, O’Connell said.

Alliance has 56 employees, and O’Connell said he believes the new building could allow that number to triple in time.

ut growth isn’t confined to the commercial sector. New housing is also a prime concern in Wood County, although recent layoffs at major employers slowed the demand for new home construction in 2005, said Jason Grueneberg, planner and records coordinator for Wood County’s Planning and Zoning Department.

The city of Nekoosa is actively involved in drawing new residences into its borders. The city-owned Lynn Creek Estates is a 40-acre parcel that officials hope will add about two homes per year, said Joe Rusch, city clerk.

“There’s been a lack of building space in the city, and this is a way of generating tax revenue,” Rusch said.

To make the project happen, Nekoosa built a water-filtration plant and created a tax incremental financing district.

Sales since the October 2003 inception of the subdivision have far outpaced the city’s goal. About 15 homes have been built, and more are in the works.

“It’s in close proximity to an elementary, middle and high school; it’s a convenient thing if you have kids,” Rusch said. “ ... It’s good to live in a small community but still be close to Wisconsin Rapids.”

The wooded lots typically run about one-third of an acre.