They say that sometimes there are just better uses that can be created on a piece of property. Aside from the reality that a new Jail and courts and a new parking ramp being squeezed into a space that will be unable to have room to expand to meet the future needs of Eau Claire County government; we are also destroying a pristine location. This beautiful site can add to the uniqueness of West Grand Ave Business district - and is one of the most beautiful river views in Eau Claire. If you really want to encourage people to use the downtown then you have to give them a place to go and a place to live downtown.

This Concept is a design CAJE had created to show a better use of 1st Ave at the corner of West Grand. Aside from adding tax base back onto the city of Eau Claire’s tax rolls, this building concept would provide space for people to live and space for unique businesses complimentary to what makes West Grand desirable. We believe this idea will have life and help create itself, when the full disclosure of the current county plan is revealed; and the community realizes it’s limitations will not meet the county’s needs over the next 100 years.

Now is one of those times that come along when a community needs to chose where it wants its future to go. Our suggestion is to create a remote Justice Center on a site large enough to serve county government and judicial needs for the next century and beyond. Utilize the current county building as a cooperative Government Center.. Our common sense also tells us that if we cannot afford to do what is best at this time... because of the economy and current tax burdens, then we should fix what we have and make do for the next 10 years or more. When times are better - we can afford what we will need. The space downtown is too small to meet county needs so why put our head in the sand and make to wrong decision. It is the wrong space for a Jail and the growing needs of county government. We believe that there are better concepts that can be achieved . With effort, community support and planning we can create better spaces in Eau Claire.

The design shown above was created by the members of CAJE who believe we must plan and make the best use of our resources. The members of CAJE had this concept design created to hopefully spark some other ideas of what we should be doing on 1st Ave. When the County builds its Justice Center on a site that can grow and will allow the future needs of the county to be met.... it is our hope that other ideas and designs similar to the one below will come forth and make better use of 1st Ave.

Let’s work together to get it back
and to make it a productive member of our tax rolls.