Altoona officials seek public input on development plans

The space will hopefully feature a hotel, restaurant, access to the Eau Claire River and an ice rink in the winter among other things, Mike Golat, city administrator, said. Kwik Trip and WESTconsin Credit Union have committed to building at the site, he said.

"The planning has been a long time coming," Golat said. "We want to make sure we are hitting the mark for the public."

To gather public opinion on the development, city officials have planned a meeting for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Altoona City Hall.

"The goal is to show the public the work that has been done as this plan has developed," Mayor Jack Blackburn said. "We hope folks like it and espouse it. We are proud of it, and we want the community to assume ownership and buy into it."

Also in the River Prairie development, in the southwest quadrant, Janesville-based Woodman's Food Market has begun developing the land where the grocery store will be built. The business committed to building in Altoona last September, and workers began clearing brush at the site last week, Clint Woodman, Woodman's vice president, said. Work on the grocery store will progress in upcoming weeks, and Woodman hopes the store is open by October 2015.

Altoona will join Onalaska as the only other western Wisconsin community with a Woodman's store.

Building boom

Another development comprised of residential housing is planned as part of the River Prairie district. Clubview Lane Estates would include 21 single-family lots and 58 twin-home lots and would be built along newly constructed roads connecting Fairway Drive and Spooner Avenue, said Cody Filipczak, a broker for C&M Home Builders and Real Estate.

Filipczak said roads for the project are about half done and interest in lots there is high. Infrastructure work in the development should wrap up within a month, Golat said. Single-family lots in the development offer views of the Eau Claire Golf & Country Club.

Just north of that development, C&M is finishing the Fairway Lane Development, where 48 twin homes have been sold in just more than two years.

Across town, the former Hillcrest Golf & Country Club site - which was purchased in 2012 by Jim Rooney of Rooney Properties and Heartland Homes & Development of the Chippewa Valley - is being developed into Hillcrest Greens residential housing.

"Every time I go back there is more work and more construction," Blackburn said.

Bill Albright, vice president of Heartland Contractors, said it has been a busy year within the neighborhood.

"On the single-family home side, there are currently five new residents enjoying the beautiful scenery, walking trails and parks within Hillcrest Greens," Albright said. "We have six new homes either under construction or ready for occupancy that are currently for sale. In addition we are currently working with two custom home clients with the development of their new house plan."

Also under construction is The Classic at Hillcrest Greens, a 63-unit independent and assisted living building that also will house 36 memory care units.

Altoona's development was years in the making, Blackburn said, but now the city's future looks bright. Recent Census Bureau figures show the city is the third-fastest growing city in the state from 2010-13.

"It's certainly an exciting time," Blackburn said. "The city suffered and soldiered on and good fortune has come our way."

Kueppers can be reached at 715-833-9203, 800-236-7077 or courtney.kueppers@ecpc.com.