The City of Kewaunee is searching for the right people to turn the site of a former food processing facility into a destination.

City officials released their Request for Qualifications earlier this month to redevelop the Hamacheck/Klockner site, also known as Ellis Point. After purchasing the property in 2014, the city received state funding to make over $4 million to repair the nearby Kewaunee Harbor seawall in 2016. Redevelopment of the 3-plus acre parcel into a destination was one of the focuses of a community design charrette orchestrated by Extension UW-Madison in 2018. The city and Pierpoint Development Group had gone back and forth on developing the Hamachek-Klockner property since mid-2020 when developers approached Kewaunee officials about a project that would include a 70-suite hotel, event center, spa retreat, and dining facility, among other amenities. Planning for that project fell apart earlier this year. In the RFQ, the city listed its expectations for the project, which includes a mixed-use development project, supporting the health and vibrancy of the downtown area, considering the area’s existing structures and uses, and ties into the existing and proposed pedestrian connections.

The deadline for interested parties to submit their RFQ response is January 5th before the Public Property Committee reviews them on January 18th.