Wausau Center was an enclosed shopping mall which opened in 1983 in downtown Wausau, Wisconsin. The last remaining anchor store was HOM Furniture, which still stands in a space that had previously been a Younkers. There were two vacant anchor stores that were once JCPenney and Sears. It was managed by Mid-America Real Estate Group.

History

The downtown area of Wausau was blighted by many vacant buildings in the late 1970s. A referendum passed in 1979 to allow

Richard E. Jacobs Richard E. "Dick" Jacobs (June 16, 1925 – June 5, 2009) was an American businessman and real estate developer who co-founded the Jacobs Entertainment, Richard E. Jacobs Group, and owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1986-1999. Biography Jacob ...

' Jacobs Visconsi & Jacobs Group to build the mall. Approximately 67 buildings were demolished to make way for the mall, which opened on August 3, 1983. To commemorate the opening, a five-day celebration was held. Its original anchors were

J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

, Sears, and Prange's (later Younkers). Walgreens, an original tenant, moved out in 2003 relocating to central Bridge Street. In 2006, the mall owners began a renovation that included new seating areas and an improved mall entrance. Two years later, the

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...

was expanded, using space vacated that same year by a McDonald's. The mall lost all three anchor stores between 2014 and 2018, with Younkers being the last of the three to close; in June 2019, HOM Furniture opened as the center's sole anchor store, having acquired the previously closed Younkers location. Proposed_Wausau_Center_Artists_Rendition.jpg, Artists rendition of proposed mall Original_Wausau_Center_Mall_Main_Entrance.jpg, Original Main Entrance Wausau_Center_Original_Interior.jpg, Original Mall Interior

Redevelopment

On February 4, 2020, the mall was sold to Wausau Opportunity Zone, Inc. (WOZ). The acquisition does not include HOM Furniture or the two parking ramps. It was planned for demolition sometime in 2021 to make way for a multimillion-dollar redevelopment, which will include residential and retail areas, office space, restaurants, entertainment, and green spaces. The mall closed permanently in April 2021. Demolition began on May 17, 2021. It took up to eight weeks for construction crews to remove the buildings and foundations, with HOM Furniture, the two parking ramps, and the JCPenney building remaining. The JCPenney building will temporarily remain in place due to its location above the west parking ramp but is planned to be removed later.

References

External links

Wausau Center
{{Shopping malls in Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Marathon County, Wisconsin Shopping malls in Wisconsin Defunct shopping malls in the United States Demolished shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls established in 1983 Wausau, Wisconsin 1983 establishments in Wisconsin Shopping malls disestablished in 2021