From storage to storefront: How a vacant building is becoming De Soto, WI’s new potential anchor attraction on Main Street

    The tape binding Mitch Schiffer’s fingers evokes the appearance of aged drywall dust, frayed at the edges from a day spent navigating the challenges of construction. With a resolute exertion, he elevates a stud into position, squints one eye to ensure the level is accurate, and presses the wood against brick that has experienced more years of silence than commerce for nearly a decade.

On Main Street in De Soto, WI, windows of this nature rarely exhibit a polished sheen any longer. Instead, they have transformed into reflective surfaces - only capturing the transient headlights of passing vehicles over the years.

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