Plans underway for Altoona event center

Friday, February 19, 2016
Jessica Bringe | WEAU

ALTOONA, Wis. (WEAU) -- There may be a new community gathering spot in Altoona as early as next year as the city considers a development plan for a new event center.

The project is nearly 15 years in the making as part of the River Prairie Development plan which began in 2001.

The Altoona City Council plans to consider the Manor Court Reconstruction project next week.

"I don't think there's going to be any argument from council," said city administrator Mike Golat. "This is how it's always been in the plans is that you need a building to support the events that are going to be there. You need a home base."

The goal is to create a mix-use building with a public space component to host community events.

"The event center will provide the home base for both outside and inside events and park programming," explained Golat.

The more than one million dollar center would be a revenue generating facility by offering wedding venues and 3,500 square feet of event space among other amenities.

Golat said, "This would provide a revenue stream to support maintenance of the public space and staffing of the public space which we expect to be busy all the time."

There are currently no detailed renderings of the center but Ayres Associates is completing a space needs analysis which includes taking a look the number of bathrooms, amount of open event and catering space, a bar area and break rooms.

Golat explained, "At this stage we're just looking at what kind of spaces are going to be required in the building to be successful and marketable."

If the project is approved the next step is to move the design details forward with a 2016 construction bid and hopes of it being completed by the spring of 2017.

"We want to make sure everything gets done right, so it has to be done thoughtfully with a lot of attention to detail," said Golat.

Thursday, Feb. 25th, the council will consider moving forward with the project plans during a public information meeting.

Golat said it's a chance for those in Altoona to get an idea of what amenities the event space will offer and voice their opinions on the project.

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