RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) — A proposed new development would add 38 apartment units, 30 townhomes, a bar and grill, and an internet gaming center in Rhinelander.
Riverview Estates, which would stand three stories tall, got initial approval from a city commission this week. The development is planned on the current site of Riverview Hall, a facility largely used for student housing near the confluence of the Pelican and Wisconsin rivers on Rhinelander’s southwest side.
Riverview Hall was previously Taylor Park nursing home. “My target is to have the apartment enclosed before the snow comes so that we can work during the winter. That way, we can work interior during the winter months to finish out for a spring opening,” Alpha Development President Reginald Fraley told the Rhinelander Plan Commission on Tuesday.
A planned bar and grill with outdoor seating and an internet gaming center would be open by the fall. All told, the development would create 40 full-time jobs. The idea is being led by local entrepreneur Dwight Webb, who owns the current Riverview Hall site.
It’s adjacent to Holmboe Conifer Forest, a designated and dedicated State Natural Area owned by the Northwoods Land Trust. Land Trust Land Protection Coordinator Kari Kirschbaum said her group had been working with developers to ensure the protection of the site, which features old-growth trees and endangered species.
“Currently, it’s got kind of a low level of use. People know about it and people do use it. They go there to birdwatch. They go there to experience nature. It’s kind of a low-key preserve. Our concern is just with this many additional people living directly adjacent to it, there will probably be some adverse impacts to the preserve,” Kirschbaum said.
She said her group has been working with developers to ensure the protection of the site. “I know that you recognize the value. It’s kind of a treasured asset to Rhinelander and the community, and we want to ensure that it can stay that way, that it’s protected and that it stays available and open to the public,” Kirschbaum said.
Developers have offered to have residents sign agreements regarding proper use of the forest trails and to form covenants and restrictions regarding future land use. “The bottom line is, we want to be not good neighbors. We want to be great neighbors,” Fraley said. “We want you to be happy with us. We want to enjoy the forestry. We’re going to have a number of people that are going to enjoy going in there just to watch birds and things of that nature, or a couple that maybe just wants to go for a nice evening walk.”
The Rhinelander Plan Commission unanimously approved rezoning the development property to allow for the proposed use. It now goes to the full City Council for final approval.
