MADISON—Governor Scott Walker announced today that the City of Stevens Point, Portage County, will receive a $750,000 grant from the Community Development Block Grant–Public Facilities (CDBG-PF) program of the Department of Commerce (Commerce) to fund a downtown redevelopment project.
“It is important to assist projects that can have a major impact on community revitalization,” Governor Walker said. “I’m pleased that we could work with the City of Stevens Point on a redevelopment project that will allow a college to expand and open the door for further development opportunities.”
The city will partly demolish the downtown CenterPoint Mall. The mall has is underutilized and was recently foreclosed. Once the mall building is rehabilitated, Mid-States Technical College will relocate there to accommodate its steadily increasing enrollment. The city will also reconstruct local streets and redevelop adjacent Mitchell Square for community activities such as festivals and a farmers’ market. Total project cost is $9.7 million.
CDBG-PF grants play an important role in helping communities finance a wide range of projects designed to enhance the economic vitality of the community through the provision of community infrastructure, the expansion of tax base, job creation, and increased private investment in downtowns.
For more information on Commerce programs and services, contact Jason Scott, Commerce, 608/261-7714.
