HAYWARD, WIS. — Greiner Construction has broken ground on The Lumber Exchange, a 10,000-square-foot coworking and gathering space at the corner of Main Street and Highway 63 in Hayward, a city in northwest Wisconsin. Designed to support local workers, entrepreneurs, creatives, nonprofits and community leaders in the area, the project replaces a commercial space that had been vacant for 15 years. The project site once hosted some of Hayward’s earliest landmarks, including the Pion Hotel, Giblin Hotel, Walker Hotel and the Hayward Building.
The Lumber Exchange is expected to open in summer 2026. The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association and the Sawyer County/Lac Courte Oreilles Economic Development Corp. have committed to long-term leases of office space within the building. The project will include flexible work areas, private offices, phone booths, conference rooms, event space, a coffee bar and second-level deck overlooking Main Street. The building will also host community programming, workshops and gatherings.
The Lumber Exchange is the first commercial development for Carson Kipfer, whose background includes building companies in the technology arena for both the sports and insurance industries. Additional project team members include Cuningham and Spider Lake Trading.