STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) -- Stevens Point planners approved some proposed business developments, but denied one.
The Plan Commission supports the outdoor patio and upper level apartment proposal for Guu’s on Main. Mayor Andrew Halverson chairs the Commission, and like the proposal. “Guu has a wonderful idea to build a beautiful urban patio setting to the north of his building, which is a great pub as it is, but being able to incorporate when we do have great weather, the outside.”
Halverson is pleased to see investment in the downtown properties. “This is a pretty exciting time, and he’s going to be investing a great deal of funds on the second floor for the two urban apartments, so it’s just a great example of better land use, outdoor space being recognized for a better use, but also really looking at an urban dynamic and a density dynamic for residential at the same time.”
A proposed new business received Plan Commission support. Don and Kelly Guay plan to open Sunset Point Winery in the former Point Bakery building at 1201 Water Street. Don Guay says there are many hoops to jump through before they can get started. “It’s a big multi-step process. The first step is to get the conditional use permit approved through the City of Stevens Point. Then after that, we start pursuing the federal permit through the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) , or Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco. Then, we have to go through the state to get a permit, and then we actually end up with a food processing license on top of that, so it’s a lot of steps to go through.”
Guay says their research shows central Wisconsin is a huge area without a winery business, and he’s confident they can draw local and visiting clients. “We have a sound business plan. We’re confident that the beautiful downtown location will help attract visitors. The typical Wisconsin winery gets 6,600 visitors a year, and so based on that, we’re very confident the winery will be successful.”
Guay is hopeful they can begin business by next May.
The Justiceworks program is looking into using the vacant Masonic Lodge building for offices, meetings, and a retail bicycle repair shop where their former inmate clients could use their abilities in a positive way. Several residents spoke against having the retail traffic in a residential area, and the Plan Commission agreed. “I was very supportive of the denial. I was happy that the Plan Commission concurred, because it’s really expanding on a use that is not necessarily applicable to that neighborhood, hence the reason the zoning is there in the first place.”
Halverson says Justiceworks could continue to use the old Masonic Lodge, but not for everything they hoped to use it for. “ Certainly, it would provide allowed uses for their professional offices, their meeting space, their conference rooms, so I think there is obviously a great deal of use for the way these organizations would look at it, which would be allowed within the zoning code. It’s the retail component that obviously be deleterious to the neighborhood.”
The City Council is not bound by the Plan Commission’s votes, and could approve or deny proposals with or without the Commission’s recommendation.
(Listen to our interviews with Andrew Halverson and Don Guay on these hyperlinks.)