Holiday Inn Express Coming to Antigo
According to the Antigo Daily Journal, plans are a go for a new Holiday Inn Express to be built on Antigo’s north side. While I don’t feel the need to complain about this project, I do wonder how it will do and if it will still be functioning in 15 years. Certain times of the year, yes, Antigo does attract visitors, but, majority of the year, no, Antigo does not. Which is exactly what we need – activities and events to attract visitors. If more industry doesn’t come into Antigo soon, I’m afraid more and more residents will leave the area. There are too few companies that pay a decent wage in this town. The ones that do, fill up fast. I really don’t think the wages for working at a Holiday Inn are going to be an improvement over what is currently here. And of course, instead of using existing empty buildings, they are going to build it. So, probably 20 years from now (if that long) it will be another eyesore waiting to be tore down.
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I agree! This town needs companies to come in that will pay better wages. This town has become less and less. We need change!!!
Nice Blog. Do we need another hotel, bar, or gas station? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I rest my case.
We need our business back up, factories, an Aldi’s. C’mon people, this town is going under fast. Who decides what comes in and what doesn’t?
Of course, I choose to live in this town. But I’m starting to question that. Cardboard boxes aren’t very warm in winter.
Do we need another hotel? Especially considering the one accross the street from the proposed location was in forclosure once and is now the current source of a rumor that it’s not making enough to pay it’s employees???
If we can’t support one why would you put up another? Plus what about our convention center?? Doesn’t that have a hotel too???
Let’s hope we need another hotel someday, but certainly NOT now! In my opinion, this town needs to do whatever it takes to hire an award winning city planner who has never even been to Antigo before. Someone who has no knowledge of “the way things used to be.” This town needs a fresh outlook and an entirely new direction. God bless the brave who try to start new businesses here, they are getting fewer and fewer each year. I have not lived in Antigo long, so I remember my first trip through town thinking it all seemed like gas stations, bars, banks and chiropractic offices! Where ARE the shops? Where can I get a coffee and just window shop? Nothing made me even want to park my car and get out! As far as the “downtown,” there is no parking! If you are just passing through or new to the area, it is very confusing to try and figure out where you can actually leave your car. All the spaces on the street are always full and all of those people are either in one of the banks or the Dixie. There are no “clear” parking spaces behind any of the downtown businesses. Ask anyone who is new!!! In downtown Wausau, there are diagonal spaces in front of a lot of colorful and interesting shops. What is there to even stop for in Antigo? What can we advertise to outsiders? The long gone antique stores were a nice touch, Memory Lane, etc., but without outside traffic … how can they stay in business? Instead of doing something to make these business easier access to tourists, what do they do? Get rid of 1/2 of the street parking, widen the lanes on 5th Avenue and also on 45! All this did was help to get tourists through Antigo faster and gave them less reason to stop and spend money! Even the 4th of July Parade was rerouted off of 5th Avenue to keep the traffic flowing! WHAT WAS WRONG WITH STOPPING TRAFFIC? Who wouldn’t stop and watch a 4th of July Parade? Maybe afterwards these tourists “just driving through” would have had lunch and visited a few shops and spent some money in town!!!!! Another thing is that Antigo could actually HAVE A WATERFRONT! We could have a restaurant or two, maybe one with a big deck so you could eat outside, a few shops, some benches outside, perhaps some little paddleboats to rent … all by the water, but instead no one has done anything to develop this area at all. It seems the “powers that be” have sadly decided to give up on the downtown and focus on the north side. So, there is a WalMat there, but every town has that! And just look at the nearly empty old KMart plaza, the Dollar General and all the other empty buildings up there. Antigo will soon be a ghost town unless someone comes in that doesn’t give a darn about what is USED to be like!
Well, maybe incorporating some of the BEST of what it used to be like!
Well done ddddd! I couldn’t agree with you more!