County to consider options for UW campus buildings

Marathon County, which just started the process of divesting itself of several vacant properties in Wausau, will soon have even more buildings to potentially offload after the UW-Stevens Point campus relocates to Northcentral Technical College next year.

Representatives from UW-SP and NTC spoke to the county board last Thursday about plans to move all of the students and staff from the campus on Stewart Avenue to NTC’s main campus next year, leaving multiple county-owned buildings empty by the end of 2026.

Pratima Ghandi, interim chancellor of UW-SP, told the board that the new partnership between UW-SP and NTC will provide “seamless degree options” for students who will remain Pointers but have more direct access to NTC’s programs and facilities.

“This is not a merger, nor is it one institution absorbing another,” she said. “We expect both institutions to grow and become stronger under this model in the community.”

NTC President Jeannie Worden, who herself is a graduate of the formerly named UWMarathon County, said the two higher learning institutions have been collaborating for years, with 26 different articulation agreements in place that allow students to transfer from NTC to UW-SP and obtain their bachelor’s degrees.

Gretel Stock, the dean at UW-SP, said this school year will continue at the current campus, with the last day of classes on May 15, 2026. University staff will move to the NTC campus by August of next year, with the UW-SP campus fully vacated by Dec. 31, 2026. She said UW-SP will continue to pay all of the utility bills and other building expenses through that date, and “support any efforts” to redevelop the property.

Worden compared the new arrangement to the regional forensic science center on the NTC campus and the 120-acre Agriculture Center of Excellence located in the town of Maine.

“This story is not about closure,” she said. “It’s about a bold new partnership.”

Supervisors asked a wide range of questions about the implications of the move, such as the integration of students and staff from the two entities, and the possible need for more space to be built in the future if enrollment grows. Supervisor Chris Dickinson, who has adult children attending both NTC and UWSP, confirmed with Worden that students will still be able to transfer credits and complete four-year degrees.

“At a high level, I think it really makes sense,” he said. “I appreciate the work that you’ve done to discuss this and kind of consolidate and move forward.”

When it comes to the future of the buildings on the Stewart Avenue campus, Stock said UW-SP is working with the Wisconsin Institute For Public Policy and Service and Wisconsin Public Radio to see what they plan to do with their building on the campus.

Supervisor Scott Poole called the partnership “a very smart, innovative solution to what was a very difficult problem,” but he said it also puts the county in a tough spot with all of the buildings that still need to be maintained. He asked if Marathon County could get financial assistance similar to the $3 million Richland County received when its two-year campus closed.

Stock said the state still has $2 million grants available for counties to apply for, with $20 million set aside through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Supervisor John Robinson, chair of the Human Resources, Finance and Capital Committee, said the HRFC started the conversation at its Sept. 19 meeting about the county’s plans for the campus. The HRFC is planning on having a joint meeting soon with the Extension, Education and Economic Development Committee, which oversees the UW’s operations within the county.

Committee members reviewed the rough draft of a request for proposals (RFP) for redeveloping the Marathon Hall dorm building on the campus, but they agreed to hold back on releasing it so they could have a larger discussion about the overall campus.

Board chairman Kurt Gibbs said the board needs to know the “carrying costs” of holding onto the buildings after UW-SP stops paying the heating and cooling bills at the end of 2026.

Supervisor Ann Lemmer said she hopes the board does a lot of community engagement to find out what the public would like to see at the location, mentioning a childcare co-op or arts building as possible examples.

Supervisor Poole, however, said the county should really be looking at the best way of getting the property back on the tax roll with a private entity that generates revenue for the county.

UW-SP’s pending relocation comes at a time when the county is also looking at selling off buildings it owns on River Drive and Thomas Street, which were left empty after multiple county departments moved to a consolidated campus on Lake View Drive.

County administrator Lance Leonhard said the RFP for Marathon Hall could be used as a template when soliciting redevelopment proposals for other county-owned properties, but he would like more feedback first from supervisors on what criteria the county should use for evaluating those proposals.

Criteria included in the rough draft put a great deal of weight on the “value” for the county, as measured by the purchase price, the number of jobs and workforce housing that could be created, possible sales tax revenues and “the expected quality of the proposed work.” The experience of the developer is also included as a factor.

Gibbs said the county board will want to ensure that any proposed developments are “conducive” with the county’s values and strategic goals.

“We absolutely want to be open to business, but we want to know what that business is,” he said.

Supervisor Corey Hart, who represents the area around the campus, emphasized the importance of getting public input from neighborhood groups who have a direct stake in how county-owned properties are developed.

“The entire county doesn’t have to live next to what potentially goes there,” he said.