Owners will seek commercial zoning

• 2010 Aerial of site

2010 Aerial of site

Talk about it

The sale of the former tourism information center property on I-94 in Hudson to a local partnership was finalized last week.

Hudson Holdings LLC was the high bidder for the 16-acre site when the state Department of Transportation put it up for sale last year.

Brian Zeller, David Robson and two unnamed local investors offered $1,251,043 for the site along the south side of the freeway, with an access from Crest View Drive.

Zeller said in a phone call last week that the partners will petition the city of Hudson to rezone the property from public to commercial use.

“We’re really just starting the process and looking forward to working with the city to see what makes sense for the property and for the community,” Zeller said. “We would like to see it commercial, but we’ll need to apply for zoning and (a) plat (map).”

He said 1.8 acres of the land will remain a drainage easement area.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and make any assumptions about what the city is going to be open to,” Zeller said when asked if the partnership has any businesses interested in locating on the site.

“We want to work with the city and make sure we’re all on the same page,” he said.

The tourism information center was closed by the state in the spring of 2009. Low visitor numbers was the reason cited for the closure.

Visits to the center dropped off after the direct access to the center from I-94 was closed in 1993. That coincided with the closure of an exit ramp to Crest View Drive and the opening of the I-94/Carmichael Road interchange.

Tags: business, hudson, wisconsin