A deal that would have brought a movie theater complex to Wausau’s struggling downtown mall has fallen through.
Leaders of the Micon Cinemas chain told Rialto Capital Management LLC, the mall’s owners, that they would not be able to move forward with the plan. The theater complex would have been located in the space once occupied by Sears department store.
Wausau Mayor Robert Mielke expressed his disappointment.
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“We had a done deal August 15th,” Mielke said. “We’ve got to figure out, okay, are we going to build a theater in that area? If not, there are some other interested parties. The city has got to move forward.”
The mayor said in a news release that city leaders still believe an entertainment venue, like a cinema, could help reposition the Wausau Center Mall and help the downtown area.
“With the theater, we were kind of hoping that would just be something that would enhance the downtown area, and frankly to help out the new owners of the mall,” Mielke said.
The city will now look at alternative recommendations for the building, which may include soliciting ideas through the Request for Proposal process, according to the news release.
The Wausau Center Mall lost Sears and JC Penney, two of its three anchor stores. Younkers, the third anchor, is still in business.
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