WIZM Top stories of 2015 – No. 4: Development and construction

Downtown La Crosse has been 
torn down and built in 2015

Throughout the year 2015, it seems as if La Crosse has been one big construction zone.

The combination of street repairs, new hotels and other developments qualify as the No. 4 story of the year from AM 1410 WIZM.

The biggest single project downtown this year has been the development of Lot C, the old courthouse square. A ground-breaking happened in April for the $60 million project to be called “Third Fourth Place.”

Developer Don Weber says he’s bringing new retail businesses and jobs to that block.

The first business expected to open on Lot C in 2016 is Associated Bank, which is moving from Sixth Street to allow La Crosse County offices to occupy the current bank building.

Weber also was one of the developers putting up hotels downtown this year. The Logistics Health CEO turned an old candy factory and furniture store into the Charmant Hotel.

A Hampton Inn opened near the festgrounds just before Christmas, and two more hotels, including another by Weber, will be finished in the next 12 months.

And, for most of the summer, North Second Street and part of Main Street were torn up and rebuilt, causing weeks of detours.