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Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News September 11, 2004 By Colin Atagi, Daily Tribune Staff Many local residents aren't quite sure where downtown Wisconsin Rapids begins and where it ends. Members of a Community Progress Initiative industry cluster group hope to change that. For more than two months, members of the Downtown Revitalization cluster group have taken the time to tour the area to determine the boundaries of the downtown area. Many residents consider Eighth Street South to be the downtown area, but the group wants to make everyone aware it actually stretches along Grand Avenue from McMillan Memorial Library down to the area around the Mead Witter building and Rapids Mall, said cluster member Del Morter. "When you ask people where downtown Wisconsin Rapids is, you never have the same answer," he said. Wisconsin Rapids resident Nancy Peterson often walks around West Grand Avenue, but she wasn't sure it was considered part of the community's downtown, she said. "I'm used to thinking of a downtown as a busy place," she said. "This area does have some big buildings, but there's not much going on. Eighth Street is busier." The cluster group's main goal is to revitalize the area by bringing in more businesses and to make the downtown a more appealing place for residents to live. "Right now, we're just looking at ideas and trying to develop a theme for the downtown area," said cluster member Tim Desorcy. "We're also looking at a project involving a mural in the downtown area." Changes already are being made. Gary Rosencrans, group member and owner of the Mead Witter building, recently began improving the exterior of the building on West Grand Avenue. The owners of Baur's Floor Mart on Second Avenue also are redoing their business' exterior. A more appealing environment can be the first step in enhancing the downtown, said Connie Loden, executive director of the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance. "If you bring activity to downtown, or direct traffic to a downtown, that certainly helps in providing additional business opportunities to those located there," she said. "If you can increase the amount of traffic, you'll naturally increase the amount of business that goes through that area, and it's very attractive to be in a downtown area that's easy to find and easy to park." The community would benefit from an enhanced downtown area, Morter said. "In order to be the heart of a city, (a downtown area) has to be more than a couple blocks," he said. You can reach Colin Atagi at 422-6728 or at catagi@wisconsinrapidstribune.com. Editor's note: About two months ago, organizers of the Community Progress Initiative formed industry cluster groups to enhance the local economy. This is the fourth of an eight-part series introducing readers to those clusters and examining their progress.
		Copyright © 2004, Community Progress Initiative, South Wood County & Town of Rome