Groundbreaking occurs at long-planned River Point project site

They’ll need to bring in tons and tons of dirt before anything gets built on the former Mobil Oil site in La Crosse.  But Mayor Mitch Reynolds and other community leaders turned shovels of dirt Tuesday at a groundbreaking for the River Point construction project near the Black River. 

The project has been on the drawing board during the terms of six mayors, dating back to Pat Zielke in the 1990’s. 

The chair of the La Crosse Redevelopment Authority, Adam Hatfield, says getting the land ready for development was one obstacle, along with buying the land from its previous owners.

Large Mobil Oil tanks were located on the land for many years, and the property had to be cleaned so there was no oil left underground.