Rhinelander eyes new housing development

A proposed mixed-use housing development north of the U.S. Highway 17 bypass is driving the City of Rhinelander to create a new Tax Increment Financing district — a process that began on Tuesday, March 3 with a Joint Review Board meeting in the morning and a city plan commission meeting in the evening.
During both sessions, it was explained that the development would bring approximately 94 units of mixed housing — including apartments, duplexes and townhomes — to a site across the bypass from the former Wickes Lumber location. The identity of the developer has not been publicly disclosed, though Tony Pharo, executive director of the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation (OCEDC), said the connection was made through a Wisconsin housing matchmaking event held in Wisconsin Dells.
“I explained how desperately we need housing,” Pharo told the Star Journal. “He came up, worked with a realtor, we drove him around lots — we’ve got him.” Pharo added that a groundbreaking could come as early as late July if all the necessary approvals fall into place.
The project, with a total capital stack of approximately $29 million, would be financed in part through Tax Increment District No. 13, a new mixed-use district proposed around the development site off Stevens Street. A separate but related action would amend the existing TID No. 10 to fund utility infrastructure needed to make the site buildable.
Pharo, who addressed the plan commission during a public hearing on the TID No.13 proposal, framed the project in stark terms. The Oneida County EDC conducted a housing study last year that found the region needs 1,500 additional housing units.

“We heard from Aspirus just recently that a pharmacist can’t find a place to live,” Pharo said. “We’re having trouble with our industry.” He called TID No. 13 “vitally important to moving the housing problem forward in Rhinelander” and urged commissioners to support it.
Mayor Kris Hanus echoed the urgency, noting that the developer is motivated to build something beyond a standard apartment complex.
“He wants a mixture of housing units,” Hanus said, describing a planned mix of apartments, duplexes and townhomes intended to appeal broadly — including to local employers looking to attract and house workers.
Pharo said the developer has shown genuine enthusiasm for the community. “He’s very excited about this area,” Pharo said. “It’s not just someone who cares about the community — he really sees the opportunity.”
Josh Low of Ehlers, Inc., the city’s municipal financial advisor, presented the financing plan to both panels. He described TIF as one of the only dedicated economic development tools available to Wisconsin municipalities.
The mechanism works by freezing the baseline property tax value of a district at the time of its creation. All taxing jurisdictions — in this case the City of Rhinelander, Oneida County, the School District of Rhinelander and Nicolet College — continue to receive their existing share of property tax revenue throughout the life of the district. But any new value created by development is captured by the city and used to repay the infrastructure and incentives that made the development possible.
“Without TIF, this would probably fall on the tax levy,” Low told commissioners. “People really prefer not having these taxes for this kind of project.”
The housing development is expected to generate about $9.1 million in assessed value upon completion, producing roughly $149,000 in annual tax increment. Phase-one developer incentives of approximately $125,000 per year would be paid on a “pay as you go” basis, meaning the developer is compensated only once assessed value is actually created. Low called this the most risk-free approach for the city.
Over its projected 20-year life through 2047, TID No. 13 is expected to generate approximately $5.2 million in total revenue, with a projected surplus of $232,000 at closing — an amount that would be distributed back proportionally to all taxing jurisdictions.
The Joint Review Board is compromised of representatives from the local taxing jurisdictions: the City of Rhinelander, Oneida County, the School District of Rhinelander and Nicolet College, along with citizen member Brandon Karaba of Peoples State Bank.
Getting Utilities to the Site
To move the housing project forward, the city also needs to extend water and utility infrastructure to the development site. According to the presentations, that work would be funded through an amendment to TID No. 10, a rehabilitation district created in 2013 that has accumulated approximately $10.8 million in tax increment since its inception.
“Steven Street got redeveloped probably about eight to ten years ago — got brand new utilities up to the bypass,” Hanus explained. “The problem we’re facing is from that point heading north, the utilities are lacking in volume and age.” The TID No. 10 amendment would authorize approximately $2 million for that utility extension, effectively using up the district’s remaining capacity before it closes in 2040.
It was explained that the two districts serve distinct but complementary purposes: TID No. 10 gets utilities to the bypass; TID No. 13 funds the infrastructure and incentives within the development site itself. Hanus also noted that TID No. 10 could deliver community benefit even if TID No. 13 never moves forward, since aging utilities in the broader area have long constrained development on several parcels.
During the Plan Commission discussion, commissioner Tom Jerow asked what would happen if projected commercial and industrial development beyond the apartment buildings failed to materialize. Low said the city simply would not issue additional debt or incentives if revenue was not there to support them, and that the apartment building alone would more than cover phase-one incentive costs.
Jerow also raised concerns about pedestrian infrastructure, noting that future site plans would need to address walkability. Hanus acknowledged the point but said those details — sidewalks, landscaping, lighting and site layout — would be worked out when the developer returns with a Certified Survey Map and site plan.
“Tonight isn’t about what they’re building,” Hanus said. “It’s: do we think this part of town is deserving and needed for economic development purposes?”
City finance director Wendi Bixby added that establishing the TID No. 13 boundary now creates a ready-made financing structure for any future developer, even if the current project were to fall through. “If this current development wouldn’t happen, it’s not a negative to the city,” she said. “The next developer that comes in — it’s all ready for them.”
Both resolutions — one for TID No. 10 and one for TID No. 13 — passed on unanimous roll call votes.
The proposals now advance to the Common Council, which is scheduled to consider them at its March 23 meeting. The Joint Review Board will then reconvene for a vote, tentatively scheduled for April 9 at 10 a.m.
Low noted that the city is approaching the state-imposed 12% cap on equalized value that can be held in TIF districts — the new district would bring Rhinelander to approximately 11.25%. He said a reassessment, likely coming given that assessed values have not kept pace with equalized values, should not push the city over the limit. Pharo added that state legislation is pending that could raise that cap to as high as 18%.
Even with approvals still pending, Hanus said the momentum is real — and the stakes are high. “Time is money,” he said. “If a community is primed and ready to go, and another community is not, that matters to a developer.”