| By Big Radio News Staff |
The city of Janesville looks to bolster its parks and trails system along the Rock River near downtown.
Under a proposal the city’s plan commission reviews tonight, the city would buy about an acre of riverfront on the south end of Traxler Park.
The city says it would spend 125,000 dollars in park acquisition funds and city tax increment financing proceeds to buy land that houses the former Schulers Country Furniture store at 533 N. Main St.
The vacant property is on a designated, 100-year floodplain. The former furniture store was flooded during the 2008 Rock River flood, a river surge so severe that it left fish swimming in floodwaters that covered parts of North Main Street for days.
Under a deal the city’s negotiated, the current owner, Hendricks Holdings, would pay to tear down the 21,000-square-foot building and remove it. The city says the land could become part of a network of riverfront trails and park space the city plans to connect Traxler Park and the downtown.
That’s a key priority the city has designated as part of the ARISE downtown riverfront revitalization strategy.
The acquisition would make park land of all but about 500 feet of riverfront along North Main between Centerway and Memorial Drive, but it would not include a former auto garage just to the north that now houses a fitness center.
