Communities struggle to recover from downtown fires like the one that destroyed Ganser's

By Barry Adams, Capital Newspapers

It’s been more than four years since fire destroyed two downtown Sauk City businesses.

In the Walworth County village of Sharon on the Wisconsin-Illinois border, the fire came in 2006, taking with it the community’s only grocery store and another building.

And since April, fires have left gaps in downtown Richland Center, Blanchardville and in the northwestern Wisconsin community of Durand.

It’s anyone’s guess when or if the holes in the heart of the communities will again be made whole.

“I’d love to see a project here,” said Morey “Doc” Moseman, who bought one of the two lots in downtown Sauk City as an investment. “It’s a great little town and I’d love to see it happen, but financially you look at it and the risk is huge.”

A weak economy, tightened credit, empty store fronts, low profit margins and high construction costs make replacing a building destroyed by fire a tall order, officials say.

Some communities have succeeded while others remain in limbo. In at least two cases, vacant land has been purchased by local governments. A few lots have been revitalized.

But in many communities, there is concern.

Dennis Marty, village president of Blanchardville in northeastern Lafayette County, doesn’t know what’s in store for his downtown after a December fire killed four people. The 106-year-old Ryan Hotel building was damaged beyond repair. The three-story brick structure has been removed but with little industry in the community of 800 and a small retail district, Marty, who owned the building from 1979 to 1993, said he doesn’t know if it’s financially feasible for someone to rebuild.

“I think it’s a heck of a challenge,” Marty said. “We don’t want an empty lot there.”

One of the state’s most recent downtown fires was in the Pepin County city of Durand where three businesses were destroyed in early January. Dorothy and Dan Baader lost their floral and frame shop in the $500,000 blaze but the couple reopened in a rented space a few blocks away. It will take a few more months to learn from their insurance company if they have enough to rebuild, buy another building or if they will continue to lease.

“If you rebuild, you have more property taxes than what you had,” said Dorothy Baader, who had been at her location since 1984. “Whatever we do, we want to be stronger than before.”

Minda Barber stayed in downtown Richland Center after an arson fire wiped out her frame shop, a neighboring music store and barber shop. She has rented a smaller space across the street and down the block but is hoping the East Court Street gap, which is for sale, is refilled with retail.

“We don’t need another insurance agency,” Barber said.

Mayor Larry Fowler said someone has expressed an interest in the site, owned by Bud and Beth Hillesheim, but it’s unclear what may happen with the property.

“There’s opportunities there,” Fowler said. “It’s just going to come down to dollars and cents.”

And that’s what officials say is holding back development in Sauk City and Sharon.

The villages have each purchased properties ravaged by fire. Sharon acquired one of two properties in 2007 for $9,200, the cost of tearing down and landscaping the lot, which is for sale. Other buildings in the village’s downtown are empty, which has meant low demand for a new building, said Diana Dykstra, president of the village of 1,552 people. The space that at one time was home to Ed’s IGA is now a park.

“It’s our only business district and to take away the meat and potatoes really hurt us,” Dykstra said of the area that includes a pizza shop, bakery, hair salon and antique stores. “The grocery brought people to those little shops.”

In Sauk City, Hall’s Pharmacy has closed and there are eight other buildings for rent near where the 2005 fire destroyed Tri-County Communications and Footwear and Ganser Variety Store. In December, the village spent $175,000 to buy the Ganser store site and plans to landscape the site this summer with hopes of eventually selling the property.

Next door, Amy Pace’s flower, gift and coffee shop suffered smoke and water damage from the fire and closed but she has since remodeled the building for her Re/Max realty office.

Pace is hoping village plans to redevelop the downtown to take advantage of the view of the Wisconsin River could help attract someone to the empty spot but knows it won’t be easy.

“It was tough when I had my flower shop,” Pace said. “I was making it and I wasn’t losing money, but it was tough.”