Downtown Main Street
DMI
422 Main Street
La Crosse, Wisconsin
54601
(608) 784-0440

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Art Fahey joins us on this DMI podcast. Downtown has the college area, which is always fun for people to enjoy. I think of such a variety no myself for not being your lacrosse centering at the multiuse building sign in one day we might have a sports vacation shown the remaining efforts. The organic farmers conference and turn around and get high school basketball games coming in or entertainment that comes through so I think the shield of the varieties were small town feel people come in they feel safe will crosses embraces and welcomes all our guests and then realize how important our guest coming to the Aryans are local people coming to the downtown area are so I think is quite a warm reception everybody coming to the area so I think were unique in the beauty that we got as well) features a lot of things that neglect communities would look at art, say, is the director of the La Crosse Center in downtown La Crosse and a lot of things are happening down there, including the remodel of the La Crosse Center. Let's talk a little bit about the remodel to be tells is going on with the lacrosse in her care is the process it's going to take about almost 2 years to get completed. We had a renovation remodel of the arena, so this new seating in their sound system, lighting, HVAC, dressing rooms, locker room concession stands have all been remodeled were to be going in the outer court order that goes around the buildings that people have to go outside to navigate to the building and we put up a new North Hall called a noteholder call and that is ready to go. We are at now is called the punch list time where construction guys are going through. They really have turned the keys over for us for those two particular rooms that we still have construction guys are better available and you will a midway point through the first phase of the construction for part that still continuing as a number of meeting rooms and a volume that overlooks the Riverside that scheduled for the end of November to be completed and that there continuing with that process over the front Street area, which is adjacent to Riverside Park and will assign the building so we move along very well. You know it. If you ever look for a no light in the middle Kovacs and the construction crews that stay healthy throughout last actually progressed very well and very quickly. Overall, no work on time and on budget. It always is all good things there. As far as the overall construction venue absolutely destroys positive things to be on time and on budget. So art what will the impact of the remodel have on the downtown La Crosse area well you know when forecasting this we had economic impacts of increasing but the center could do for the downtown area in the range of $79 million a year that on top of already the 18 million it was doing so already and admit hi $29 per year economic impact for the area here. So now this is something that certainly has a direct impact on hotels and restaurants and shopping locations that are near to us by others sent ripples throughout the county. So it's something that can be beneficial to West Wisconsin because we slowly ramp up and get out of this code. People start meeting again and I will see the effects of this in our success with a lot of things we have here have been and made multiple small events and we see that continuing and we do have a large marquee event that comes through the multiple small vents is obviously the core of our success for the La Crosse Center, how many employees work for the La Crosse and well test test test code is created all kinds of fluctuations in pre-Covid, we had 15 full-time at about 300 part-time. So when we got in the Covid all, unfortunately, all part-timers and all were just the work form and we went from 15 full-time down to seven full-time now that were slowly coming back were starting to make plans and we have an escalating plan to add people back in. Based on the floor business. Now we we will have again somewhere in that 15 to 19 range of full-time people. Once we are considered at full steam and will be in at 250 to 300 part-timers again. Once we have everything back in place in the world stacked some consents and normal art. Let's look forward to the future to pass 2022. When things are back to running normally. What is the future look like for the La Crosse Center while you know what we've got is new meeting space is a different kind of meeting space here and were anticipating know that that will bring a different clientele down to us and always got a lot of floor space to tradeshows and go along with this and breakout space were looking for a lot more regional type of business coming our way, which I think was an area that we hadn't been delivering which certainly can be done now and we could see things coming out based on the Minneapolis are based on the lighting as well as island in Wisconsin to come our way related to some right things and some exciting things that you would be opening up the doors as you go along here and there's certain events that are to be large events that will also come our way here that will take up the entire building with the La Crosse Center expansion and everything art is La Crosse and are still going to be hosting like the big Moses vent that comes every year. Yes, that definitely was going to 2022 there making plans come back and be with us and is a featured event that does come to the building. A lot of people are aware of it and continue to come our way and so were looking for a long-term relationship will continue with the organic farmers organization part which have an impact as the downtown La Crosse area have when you have an event committed. Let's say the WIA basketball tournament was very important that our neighbors in the downtown area and are involved in greeting people just seating for 500 people in relation to the downtown and they're going to go out and have a cocktail and maybe a meal, and maybe do a little shopping you know you really set many people in a downtown you can quickly see where the restaurant that's 50 to 75 tears to be filled out fairly quickly, so they just need to be aware know if what were doing when relation peak, which is great communication between us and the commission has grown the downtown organization and DMI to let these folks know that they're coming to be in town and you will probably feel the effects of sin on hotels or to three days parking all comes into play. So we need to partners in the downtown area know to be able to welcome those folks = insane welcome this organization in the town and given the hospitality La Crosse is known for. Because these people are taking and not just La Crosse, and it is taken whole community. So art how much of a factor is that having a vibrant downtown is trying to sell the center to the prospective new client. I think that's important now. Each community got their own little sales point La Crosse certainly got ours without saying you know this but the back door and get the Mississippi River Riverside Park right here. Not hardly any community in the state of Wisconsin I can talk about the Mississippi River. So your features here that we sell are important to know in comparison to others.
That's why Vince move around taking those different things the city has you know we have things like the DMI what they do is they get the message out to all the membership and those are the ones downtown Main Street. To me those are the people that are wrapped right around this year and what we do and what they do you know are joined at the hip. If you will, and so the value of DMI having a communication and filling storefronts and giving people things to do once they leave our building that's important is if we didn't have a downtown. It was thriving like it is and how it can really make our guests coming to town to go for a little when I go Baptist because it is not much going on but the way our downtown is its active it's lively it's driving snow so DMI is a great job