Business View Civil Municipal - Sept 2023

95 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 9 since 2020, bringing close to 100 new residential units to the community, with commercial opportunities. “Being a landlocked community, we are running out of land. So, getting these new subdivisions is going to be really helpful for the city,” she adds, emphasizing that Onalaska is committed to making the process as easy as possible for developers. A Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, operating on a pay-as-you-go model was added to Onalaska’s downtown in 2020, bringing 100 new multi-family units to the community, and bringing new life to the city core. Mayor Smith elaborates, “The exciting thing about that project was that it was an area that we had identified as something that really needed to be redeveloped, the city-owned part of the property, and we were able to bring that TIF district to life with a partnership with one of our local developers. And that project was 100% occupied before it was fully completed and has been able to maintain that through its entire life.” A year later a second TIF was introduced, in an area known as the Fields Development. Aspenson portrays that this is expected to be a $65 million investment, which will include senior housing, townhomes, and commercial and retail options. Onalaska has also experienced substantial investment on the commercial side. In 2020, $36.5 million was infused into the community, including the establishment of a Holiday Inn, as well as an ONALASKA , WISCONSIN