Wisconsin Farmers Union celebrated with friends, colleagues and the Chippewa Falls community with a celebration and ribbon cutting for Market On River, the historic renovation and reimagination of the 1916 Chippewa Falls Mercantile building into a vibrant public space with dining and retail, commercial space and residences.
Wisconsin Farmers Union’s (WFU) is a member-based organization with the mission of promoting and enhancing the quality of life for famers and rural communities in Wisconsin. This mission is personified by the creation of Market On River in downtown Chippewa Falls. In addition to the pursuit of new corporate offices for WFU, their plan was to create a venue that exemplified their goal of promoting and providing opportunities to Wisconsin businesses, with a focus on local producers and suppliers.
Greenfire was the construction managers of the historic renovation of the building and was able to create a space that preserved original textures and features of the building, while modernizing mechanicals and functionality. As a way to welcome the Chippewa Falls community into the finalized result of the construction project, WFU held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the building on the corner of W River St. and Island St. in downtown Chippewa.
Led by WFU’s Julie Keown-Bomar, Executive Director and Jackie Boos, Facilities Director, the ceremony featured remarks from State and Chippewa Falls-Area leaders and ambassadors. Greenfire’s own Maureen Carlson, Regional Business Development Manager and Chippewa Economic Development Corporation member took the opportunity to thank WFU for their vision and the opportunity that Market On River will provide downtown Chippewa Falls, and the region as a whole.
After the ribbon cutting, guests were welcomed to explore all the spaces and offerings of Market On River, as well as tour WFU’s offices on the second floor, and view the third-floor apartment units. Offerings of the market spaces include The Mercantile, a unique retail space that showcases WFU members’ products and services. Current vendors of the market shared their fare and products, including TemptAsians, Valley Burger Co., Jimbob’s Pizza and many more.
Greenfire’s extensive historic renovation and adaptive reuse experience resulted in a unique and catalytic space for WFU and hopefully can serve as a model for other rural communities to reimagine spaces for economic growth and opportunity.
