The Foundry
"The Foundry" site at 330 9th Avenue South, formerly owned by Northern Steel Castings, has a history of foundry operations and was impacted by fire in 2016. Since the fire, the site has remained vacant. Residents in the community and surrounding neighborhoods have voiced their concerns about the site and have asked the city to clean up the site. The property was acquired by Wood County in 2023, via the tax foreclosure process. The City of Wisconsin Rapids plans to acquire the site after a Phase I Environmental Assessment is completed.
Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment
The City has applied for grant funding through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to conduct a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA).
The site assessment will evaluate the property's environmental conditions and assess potential liability for any contamination. The city plans to leverage the funding when applying for Wisconsin Economic Development Corporations Site Assessment Grant to assist with potential asbestos abatement and demolition of the structures on site. Additional funding is anticipated through the DNR for a Phase 2 ESA, which includes soil testing and remediation planning.
Preliminary Reuse Assessment
The city received an EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization CERCLA 128(a) Technical Assistance Grant ("TAG") from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2024. The grant funded site reuse planning work which culminated in a site reuse assessment for the Foundry site. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program on behalf of the state of Wisconsin, acted as the designated agency receiving the grant and implemented the work. The city worked collaboratively with the EPA, the WDNR, and the contracted environmental consultant, Vita Nuova to draft the reuse assessment. A workshop hosted by Vita Nuova, the city, WDNR, and EPA was held on July 11th, 2024, at City Hall and gave community members an opportunity to get involved in the planning process. The final reuse assessment and community workshop presentation slides are available for viewing below:
Reuse Assessment Northern Steel Castings
Community Workshop PowerPoint Presentation
Brownfield Conceptual Development and Implementation Plan
The city received another Technical Assistance Grant ("TAG") from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2025. The funding will be used for continued site reuse planning work, building on the previous preliminary reuse assessment for the Foundry site. The site reuse planning will focus on concept development of previously identified potential uses for the site and create an achievable implementation plan. The city is working with the WDNR, and the contracted consultant, Ayres Associates, to develop this plan. A community engagement kickoff meeting hosted by Ayres Associates, WDNR, and the city was held at City Hall on February 25th, 2025. Another public open house to gather feedback on concept plans is tentatively scheduled for May 2025. The final concept plans will be presented to the Common Council in July 2025, and the project will wrap up in August 2025. The community engagement materials from the kickoff meeting are available for viewing below:
PowerPoint Presentation
Previous Work Board
Project Overview Board
"The Foundry" site at 330 9th Avenue South, formerly owned by Northern Steel Castings, has a history of foundry operations and was impacted by fire in 2016. Since the fire, the site has remained vacant. Residents in the community and surrounding neighborhoods have voiced their concerns about the site and have asked the city to clean up the site. The property was acquired by Wood County in 2023, via the tax foreclosure process. The City of Wisconsin Rapids plans to acquire the site after a Phase I Environmental Assessment is completed.
Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment
The City has applied for grant funding through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to conduct a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA).
The site assessment will evaluate the property's environmental conditions and assess potential liability for any contamination. The city plans to leverage the funding when applying for Wisconsin Economic Development Corporations Site Assessment Grant to assist with potential asbestos abatement and demolition of the structures on site. Additional funding is anticipated through the DNR for a Phase 2 ESA, which includes soil testing and remediation planning.
Preliminary Reuse Assessment
The city received an EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization CERCLA 128(a) Technical Assistance Grant ("TAG") from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2024. The grant funded site reuse planning work which culminated in a site reuse assessment for the Foundry site. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program on behalf of the state of Wisconsin, acted as the designated agency receiving the grant and implemented the work. The city worked collaboratively with the EPA, the WDNR, and the contracted environmental consultant, Vita Nuova to draft the reuse assessment. A workshop hosted by Vita Nuova, the city, WDNR, and EPA was held on July 11th, 2024, at City Hall and gave community members an opportunity to get involved in the planning process. The final reuse assessment and community workshop presentation slides are available for viewing below:
Reuse Assessment Northern Steel Castings
Community Workshop PowerPoint Presentation
Brownfield Conceptual Development and Implementation Plan
The city received another Technical Assistance Grant ("TAG") from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2025. The funding will be used for continued site reuse planning work, building on the previous preliminary reuse assessment for the Foundry site. The site reuse planning will focus on concept development of previously identified potential uses for the site and create an achievable implementation plan. The city is working with the WDNR, and the contracted consultant, Ayres Associates, to develop this plan. A community engagement kickoff meeting hosted by Ayres Associates, WDNR, and the city was held at City Hall on February 25th, 2025. Another public open house to gather feedback on concept plans is tentatively scheduled for May 2025. The final concept plans will be presented to the Common Council in July 2025, and the project will wrap up in August 2025. The community engagement materials from the kickoff meeting are available for viewing below:
PowerPoint Presentation
Previous Work Board
Project Overview Board
The Foundry site located at 330 9th Avenue South, Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
