“We’ve got to look inside the city and redevelop because we can’t grow outward,” Kabat said. “We have to grow from within.”

The project is expected to include a mixture of business and recreational uses, the officials said.

Former Mayor Matt Harter described the project as something “really greater than ourselves,” preceding his and Kabat’s terms.

“It spans nearly two decades and five mayors,” Harter said. “This isn’t something one of us has chosen to do, but the community rallied us to do.”

Kabat said, “That is a testimony to how critical this site is to the city.”

The recreational opportunities at the site will spread benefits throughout the area, said Dave Clements, executive director of the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“This will become just one more asset where tourists can kayak, or bike, or hike without even knowing they are near downtown,” he said during an interview.

“In the end, many will come and live here,” he said. “Entrepreneurs will choose to locate businesses here, and we all know people go where the jobs are. This will keep businesses here and bring others.”

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