50 years later, Sheboygan's Plaza 8 remembered
Sheboygan's ill-fated but beautiful pedestrian mall never attracted retail
SHEBOYGAN — 50 years ago, the City of Sheboygan spent millions of dollars in an attempt to revitalize Downtown Sheboygan that would later be considered to be a failure in the eyes of many.
The Plaza 8 Saga began years before 1975. The concept of the plaza was first suggested in 1968 after city officials studied how to revitalize the area. The first proposal called for an enclosed pedestrian shopping mall on North 8th Street between New York Avenue and Niagara Avenue. The proposal from Victor Gruen, an Austria immigrant, never materialized but certain elements did become reality.
Construction on Plaza 8 began in September 1975. But before it could open, criticism started to roll in about landscaping and slippery bricks outside storefronts. A crowd of nearly 400 people attended the dedication ceremony on July 8, 1976 and was part of the United States Bicentennial events that the city hosted that summer.
The Plaza 8 name, originally suggested by the Central Businessmen's Association, was given a cold shoulder by the Common Council in 1974 when it was initially submitted. After citizens supported the Plaza 8 name, the city's Redevelopment Authority (RDA) and the City Council approved the name and logo. "Nobody could find a better name than Plaza 8," said James Paulmann, who served as the Chairman of the RDA.
Four developers had tried to enclose Downtown Sheboygan in some fashion.
The first proposal came from Gruen but was rejected in favor of an open air pedestrian mall. But two years after Plaza 8 officially opened, Orrin Ericson came along and also proposed enclosing a portion of the plaza. The developer from suburban Minneapolis also had plans to build a strip mall near Interstate 43 and Highway 42 where Menards is located present day. Before Ericson, Sidney Levy also wanted to build a 74,000-square-foot retail facility. In turn, the city would construct a two level parking garage. Plans from both developers never left the drawing board.
The fall of Plaza 8
The city's Redevelopment Authority filed a $1.1 million lawsuit in 1980 against the designer of the plaza and the contractor that installed the bricks. The legal action centered around the deficient brickwork, with bricks buckling and heaving just four years after Plaza 8 opened. City officials said it was due to negligence on the designers and contractors who installed the bricks.
Adding to the downfall of Plaza 8, the four-story H.C. Prange store was severely damaged by a fire in October 1983. The retailer would build a new $6 million store that would later become a Boston Store.
In September 1986, Madison developer John Livesey had an ambitious plan for Downtown Sheboygan. Demolishing Plaza 8 and much of the downtown. The $60 million plan was called City Centre and included two 100,00-square-foot office towers, a 160-room hotel and convention center, two department stores, condos and new retail space. Even a new City Hall would be constructed.
But just like Plaza 8, the City Centre project would quickly turn into a saga.
Livesey, who also designed much the Sheboygan Riverfront, had worked for two years on the project that never went beyond the design phrase. The one factor for City Centre not moving forward was ShopKo and Brett's department stores backed out of the plan, leaving no anchor stores for the downtown except for Prange’s. But the main reason City Centre never become reality was the majority of the Common Council voted to deny Livesey additional time to search for anchor stores.
It should be noted, the public was largely in favor of the City Centre project.
In August 1989, the Common Council voted to reopen the plaza to motor vehicle traffic. The only parts that remained closed to vehicles were a one block stretch in front of the library and the South 8th Street cul de sac. Over $1 million was spent to reopen North 8th Street between Center Avenue and Ontario Avenue.
As a result, Plaza 8 was dismantled. Trees relocated to city parks but bricks were not saved. But there are still remnants of the ill-fated urban renewal project. The water feature on North 8th Street is commonly mistaken as the Mead Public Library Fountain but it is actually still the Plaza 8 Fountain. The vacant land north of the Black Pig restaurant was part of the plaza and was owned by the Redevelopment Authority before being sold to Paul S. Gottsacker. A reference to Plaza 8 has remained on the sign outside Rupp’s Downtown.
The future
In the last year, the City of Sheboygan purchased the Fountain Park Restaurant & Motel at North 8th Street and Ontario Avenue as well as the Wells Fargo Bank at North 7th Street and Wisconsin Avenue. While the bank has already been demolished, the city has not yet released plans for the property.
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Demolition of Fountain Park Restaurant & Motel is expected to start by the end of the year. The City of Sheboygan purchased the restaurant and motel from Jetmir Ameti for $3.2 million. According to the Tax Incremental District (TID) Development Agreement between Rolly Lokre and the city, he will purchase the property from the city for just $1. Officials anticipate that the development will be worth $14 million once completed.
Two Sheboygan businessmen, Victor Klunck and Bob Werner Jr., had proposals to construct housing on either end of Plaza 8.
Klunck wanted to buy city-owned land near Fountain Park Motel. He proposed building apartments or condominiums but his plan never moved forward because the city, at that time, did not want apartments built in that area of downtown. Meanwhile, Werner's real estate firm proposed spending $1.6 million to convert the former Leverenz Shoe Factory on South 8th Street into apartments. That plan was abandoned and a developer from Madison ended up purchasing the Leverenz Shoe and Henry Jung Shoe factories and converted them into apartments. Today, that area is known as Plaza 8 South as the two buildings are separated by the swing streets, constructed as part of the Plaza 8 project.
Plaza 8 is now part of the Harbor Centre Business Improvement District (BID) and is simply referred to as Downtown Sheboygan. The district also includes South Pier and the Riverfront. Property owners pay a special assessment on their property taxes to fund projects and services within the BID. For an example, the flower plants and signage are paid for using those funds. Events such as 8th Streatery and River Fest are are organized through the district.
For more information about Harbor Centre, visit harborcentre.com.
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