New Grant To Assist Tribune Building Redevelopment Amid Wisconsin Rapids Riverfront Plans

Plans to revitalize the downtown riverfront in Wisconsin Rapids have gotten a big boost thanks to a state grant to redevelop the aging Tribune Building.

The $472,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will allow the building’s owner, Incourage Community Foundation, to renovate the structure, which has sat vacant for two years.

Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Zach Vruwink said the city’s residents created the plan in a series of public meetings.

“Eight-hundred residents participated in planning the Tribune’s physical layout and function, and decided they very much wanted a brewpub cafe. They also wanted the building to promote interaction with the river,” he said.

Plans also call for an art studio, kitchen, meeting room and retail space.

Vruwink said the Tribune Building is an important piece of the Wisconsin Rapids riverfront design project, which will be presented to the Common Council later this month.