STEVENS POINT – Stevens Point residents saw exterior demolition of 1039 Ellis St. begin Feb. 3 to make way for construction of a new city hall.
The Common Council approved new construction for a Stevens Point City Hall on Aug. 18, which is now expected to cost about $15.9 million, according to Justin Marquis, project architect with Green Bay-based Somerville Architects and Engineers, in the Nov.17 Common Council meeting.
“Because the cost was only slightly more expensive to build new and building new gave us tons more efficiencies and flexibility in building for the future, Council chose to build new,” Mayor Mike Wiza said in a Feb. 2 joint Plan Commission and Historic Preservation/Design Review Commission meeting.
“Since then, staff has been working with Somerville Architects to take our existing space needs, future space needs and long-term potential space needs to come up with a design,” Wiza said.
The Common Council approved a contract on Jan. 20 with Robinson Brothers Environmental Inc. not to exceed $344,885 for the demolition project. The company’s bid was chosen over 11 other competing bids, in part, due to a lower price as the company already plans to be in the area for another job this year, according to discussion of the item at the Common Council meeting. Exterior demolition began Feb. 3 with the removal of the building’s “Exterior Insulation and Finish System,” or EIFS, which is also referred to as “synthetic stucco.”
The proposed site plan review and design review received unanimous recommendations for approval Feb. 2 from each commission, respectively. The Common Council will review the plans at its next meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at 933 Michigan Ave.
What is the history of 1039 Ellis St.?
The 98-year-old building currently occupying the property saw at least nine different renovations and various uses over its years of existence. Several issues with the building, particularly the non-fire-code-compliant floor heights, contributed to the decision on the building’s fate, according to previous Common Council discussions.
The building was first constructed in 1928 to serve as home to Weber Tackle Co. and Weber Plastics Inc., and its interior space was doubled to 42,000 square feet in 1946. The two businesses closed in 1985 after nearly 90 years in Stevens Point, according to Stevens Point Journal archives.
The building remained vacant for five years until it was purchased in September 1990 by First Financial Corp. The bank invested about $2 million to renovate the 60,000-square-foot space that it used to store bank records, spare furniture and equipment, and house its fitness center, print shop, distribution center and mail room.
In 1999, the county started discussing purchasing the bank annex as part of its long-term plans to expand the Portage County Jail. The county again discussed purchasing and demolishing the building in October 2008 to use the space for a new justice center.
The county purchased the property in 2014. Over the years it leased the space to Noel Group/Berkshire Hathaway and Travel Guard for offices and a learning center. Most recently, a portion of the building was used as the home of CREATE Portage County’s IDEA Center. The IDEA Center relocated to a 27,000-square-foot space inside the renovated Sisters of St. Joseph Convent on Maria Drive in April 2025.
More on the new Stevens Point City Hall project
In May 2025, in order to facilitate the addition of a fourth court to the Portage County Courthouse, the Common Council and County Board reached a land swap agreement that traded the city’s 27% stake in the current courthouse/city hall building and some smaller nearby properties for 1039 Ellis St. and a majority of properties surrounding it.
Freeing up space in the courthouse allows Portage County to save about $60 million in construction costs for renovating the existing courthouse building to meet modern needs instead of building new, according to information on the Stevens Point City Hall project website.
The mayor, Common Council and city staff considered various options for a new city hall since 2016 including new builds and renovations of existing buildings in the city’s downtown area. Decades-long discussions with Portage County regarding each entity’s space needs began to move forward again in late 2024.
One of the most significant benefits of the newly constructed city hall is that it will be built to support the productivity of city staff. A few specific design features include natural lighting, secure entryways, a large council chamber with several exits, a specific room for election polls, an atrium and break, fitness and wellness rooms for employees. The design also includes structural considerations for a future expansion on the second floor, if needed.
City offices expected to operate out of the new city hall include the mayor, clerk, treasurer/comptroller, city attorney and the municipal court. City departments with allocated space in the building include public works, community and economic development, human resources and information technology, according to the building plans.
What is the timeline for the project?
Demolition began on the interior of the building in January 2026 and the entire building is expected to be removed by the end of May, according to a timeline on the city website. Bidding to perform the construction work is expected to occur in April or May with construction likely to begin in late May or early June. The city is expecting to move into its new headquarters in mid-summer 2027.
More information can be found on the city hall project website at https://stevenspoint.com/NewCityHall.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Demolition begins on 1039 Ellis St. for new Stevens Point City Hall
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
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