Multi-use community building planned in Clintonville
By Bert Lehman
The building that once housed Shopko in the city of Clintonville will be converted into a multi-use building, with the goal to create a community center atmosphere.
Jasper Drengler, who owns Chimney Mechanix in Shawano, is purchasing the building under a lease-to-own agreement.
Drengler told the Clintonville Tribune-Gazette that he has a lot of plans for the building.
The portion of the building that will be open to the public will include a gym, a banquet hall that can be used for weddings and other gatherings, a gift shop, and a commons area in the middle of the building that will include an antique firetruck and a fireplace.
The commons area will allow people to hang out and kids to do homework, Drengler said.
The back of the building will house Drengler’s race shop, where the BMW cars he races will be serviced and worked on.
“For years I’ve had that race shop in my business (in Shawano), and it just doesn’t fit anymore,” Drengler said.
He added that there will be a Chimney Mechanix display in the building in Clintonville, but none of the business or operations will move from Shawano to Clintonville.
Other plans Drengler has are to host educational events to teach youth how to work on cars, as well as do some trade schooling in the building.
Events tentatively planned include art exhibits, craft fairs, outdoor cars shows in the summer, and food truck events.
Community center
“The whole idea is to have a community center for people to just hang out,” Drengler said. “For those who want to work on different trades, or trades education, we’re going to have educational events throughout the summer. But a lot of it is going to focus on automotive.”
Drengler said he looked at several buildings before settling on the former Shopko building in Clintonville.
“I’ve been looking for a building for quite a while and I kept getting shut down,” he said. “It’s close enough to home, big enough, and the price was good.”
He added that this building will cost him less than any other building he considered.
The inspiration for Drenger’s plan for the building comes from Fred Beyer, Drengler’s shop teacher when he attended Shawano High School.
“He’s had all these great ideas but never had the space to do it,” Drengler said. “Now we have the space, and we’re going to have a fun community center for some learning. It will be drug free, tobacco free, and alcohol free. A place where kids, age 16-20 to hang out, work on cars, and learn in a good environment.”
Drengler said Beyer will be involved with some of the planned projects.
Timeline
Drengler has already been gutting the building, and that work will continue until completed. The plan is to paint the building in the spring.
Gym equipment will be moved into the building starting on June 1, with the goal to open the gym by mid-June.
Everything else in the building should be up and running by mid- to the end of summer, Drengler said.
Drengler said there are a couple of other things in the works to be included in the building, but he doesn’t have signed contracts for them yet.
The first event that will take place at the building is an indoor Race Car and Vendor show March 12-13 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show is free for both vendors and the public. In addition to race cars being on display, there will be vendors, videos of races being shown on monitors, two bounce houses for kids, and food trucks outside.
“I’m just trying to get kids interested in racing, the community interested in upcoming races, and let the drivers show off their cars while they’re still clean,” Drengler said.
Drengler said he sees nothing but success for his plan for the building.
“It’s kind of a dream come true,” he said. “It’s always been a goal to open and have something like this.”