On Tuesday night, the Chippewa Falls City Council approved a plan that could bring some big-time businesses to the area. The decision was a unanimous one.
City Planner, Jayson Smith, says the city has been working on this project for 10 years. He says the commercial development will be built on 300 acres of land northwest of Business Highway 29 and Seymour-Cray Boulevard.
Smith says there wouldn’t be an actual mall – but rather, a development that could loosely be compared to the Borders and Pier One retail area in Eau Claire.
He says it will be a huge project for the community.
In fact, Mayor Dan Hedrington says the development could bring hundreds of millions of dollars of tax-base income to the city of Chippewa Falls.
"That helps us maintain our emergency services program that we have,” he said. “Every other function that the city provides for its residents -- that'll help pay for it. Keep the taxes for the citizens low and improve services to the city as well."
Smith says the city will work to get the area ready for businesses as soon as possible. He says you could see construction as soon as next year.