New Neillsville hospital not expected to bring quick community growth
When Marshfield Medical Center finishes building its hospital complex on Highway 10 west of Neillsville, will businesses come? According to an economic impact study conducted by the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (WCWRPC), the answer to that question right now is no, but there are some immediate needs in the housing and renting market that could bring in more opportunities for new businesses down the line.
A presentation by Chris Straight of the WCWRPC was made at the Neillsville CART Center on Feb. 12 on the results of the study conducted by WCWRPC. The study was divided into eight sections and looked at the community profile, the importance of rural hospitals, the proposed campus, case studies of comparable facilities, the economic impacts of the campus operations and land use and growth in the city of Neillsville.
In speaking about the community, Straight said between the years 2000 and 2010 there has been an increase of 3.4 percent in population in Clark County. Projected to be one of the fastest growing counties in population for the next 30 years, Straight said about one-fifth of Clark County’s population currently resides in the 54456 Zip code, though the number of residents within the city of Neillsville itself is declining.
“The state isn’t expecting you to grow much,” he said.
Going deeper into the city of Neillsville, Straight said WCWRPC spent a significant amount of time investigating the current housing market in the area. Showing the numbers, he said there is a good mix of the amount of renters and owners within the city and a very low vacancy rate for apartments and homes. The low vacancy rate, he said, is concerning. “You have a low vacancy rate, 3.2 percent vacancy for renters and 1.7 percent for homeowners,” he said. “Five to seven percent is a healthy renter vacancy rate and two or three percent is a healthy rate for housing. You have to ask, is the market supply meeting demand? Is what’s vacant now what the market wants or needs?”
Based on the vacancy rates and what would be needed to bring them up to a healthy level, Straight said Neillsville could use between 16 to 23 more rental units and 45 to 55 homeowner units. These units, he said, don’t need to be low-income housing as some homeowners living in a cheaper home could move into a more expensive house in town if an opportunity was provided.
“Make them exist. It would free up the lower income homes for poor people,” he said. “You don’t necessarily need low income housing.”
Increasing the amount of residences available to people, Straight said, is probably one of the most important things that needs to be done with the new hospital being built. The hospital is expected to draw in more jobs, and already brings in numerous employees from outside the 54456 Zip code. With the increases in employees, he said unless there is something done to address the housing shortage, there will not be a significant impact.
“It will put a strain on an already tight market,” he said.
Besides affecting the housing market, Straight said there are going to be a few other immediate impacts the Marshfield Medical Campus will have in Neillsville. On the campus itself, the Neillsville Care & Rehab skilled nursing facility expects to hire between 10-30 new employees, the planned YMCA Wellness and Fitness center plans to hire between 2-3.5 employees and Sniteman Pharmacy stated it may add one or two more employees.
Local taxes may also be impacted in the short term. Straight said as a result of the hospital being relocated, there may be a small reduction in property taxes within the City of Neillsville while the town of Pine Valley would experience a sizable increase in property tax revenue if the Neillsville Care & Rehab nursing facility joins the rest of the hospital complex as planned.
“There is likely no significant difference until the next tax re-evaluation in 2021,” he said. “Various things influence taxes. Vacancy (of the old hospital building) doesn’t necessarily decrease value. In 2021, we may have a decrease in properties that are vacant. The existing hospital is non-taxable. If it becomes taxable it could be a net positive.”
Beyond those impacts, Straight said it’s difficult to say for sure what other effects the new hospital campus will have. Looking at other rural hospitals across the United States in a similar situation to Neillsville’s facility, he said based on the experience of those hospitals, the construction of a new building doesn’t guarantee other new business development.
“We went and looked at similar hospitals, none got an 80 percent growth rate,” he said. “A lot of them are looking to expand again, even after a decade. A new campus is not a guarantee of nearby development. In the short term, this will not happen overnight … It’s not necessarily if you build it, they will come.”
“A new campus is not a guarantee of nearby development. In the short term, this will not happen overnight … It’s not necessarily if you build it, they will come.” -- Chris Straight, West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
