Tenant for space not yet finalized

By Adam Hocking

Editor

MARSHFIELD — On Tuesday night the Marshfield Common Council approved a development agreement between the city and developer BWV Investments LLC for the construction of a nearly 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Norwood Industrial Park, which is located in the city’s tax incremental district (TID) seven but is privately owned.

A tenant for the space has not been finalized. Rob Nikolai and his wife and longtime business partner Alison Nikolai, who are effectively BWV Investments LLC, will fund the project, with the city making a $200,000 contribution.

Rob Nikolai said that Don Nikolai Construction, of which Rob is the president and owner, will build the new facility. Dennis Immerfall of Don Nikolai Construction is the architect for the project. Norwood Industrial Park is owned by the Nikolai family and sits on the southeast side of Marshfield.

The building, according to the agreement, is planned to house an “architectural wood manufacturing and finishing facility.”

Rob Nikolai said Wednesday morning that BWV is in conversations with a single tenant and was confident that tenant would come to occupy the facility, which will break ground in “approximately three weeks.” He noted that 4,000 of the nearly 50,000 square feet of the building would be office space.

The agreement spells out that the facility is to have an assessed value of no less than $1.2 million so that the city can expect to recoup its $200,000 over the course of what City Administrator Steve Barg said would be seven to eight years. If the facility does not produce the expected tax revenue, BWV will cover that shortfall in payments to the city for 10 years after completion of the project.

Barg said he anticipated the facility would generate about $29,000 in property tax revenue to the city of Marshfield each year.

“Generating tax base is critical, and we feel very confident in this developer. And with the guarantees we have in the agreement, we feel assured that we’re going to recoup our investment and continue to see growth in TID No. 7,” Barg said.

The agreement calls for the project to be completed before Oct. 1 of this year.