Rising watersUpscale riverfront developments are altering the look of Fox River shorelines in communities throughout the ValleyStory by Gina ManganFor centuries the Fox River has been recognized as the lifeline of its communities, its precious contents sustaining the livelihoods of the people who flocked to its banks. About half of Wisconsin’s Native Americans made their homes on the river shores during the 1600s. The fur trade burgeoned during the 1700s, hinting at the river’s potential as a center for commerce. That potential was fully realized during the late 1800s. Harnessed for its energy and water, first flour – and then lumber and paper mills – sprang up like sand castles on a beach. The day-to-day hustle and bustle along the riverbanks generated enough activity – and prosperity – to fuel the explosive growth of Fox River communities. Some of that activity continues today. But economies changed. Businesses changed. Many heavy industries moved out to emerging industrial parks where access to freeways and rail lines became of greater importance than access to the river. Growth spread outward, leaving more than a few dead spots in its wake – spots that for decades were easier to ignore than to address. But not any longer. Community leaders and private developers in Fox Cities communities are committed to returning the riverfront to its roots as dynamic, energetic centers of commercial and social activity. Waterfront redevelopment is in full swing, from a proposed office complex, hotel and restaurant on a former foundry site in Oshkosh to a proposal for the 15-acre RiverHeath residential, retail and recreational development on an old paper mill property beneath Appleton’s College Avenue Bridge. Integral to most community waterfront plans is the inclusion of river walks and the renewal of parks, which provides the public the opportunity to become reacquainted with their waterways. “We’re finding people want their river back,” said Andrew Bermingham, principal partner with the Colorado-based Tanesay Development LLC, which is seeking extensive feedback from Appleton residents as it formulates plans for RiverHeath. Like businessmen in centuries past, today’s developers are turning challenges into opportunities. Redevelopment projects raise questions regarding the balance of public and private investment, as well as economic viability. In addition, many of the abandoned riverside industrial sites – called brownfields – suffer from lasting environmental problems that need some kind of remediation. “We find that there’s this sort of public stigma with regard to brownfields, and that they’re often treated by society like someone panhandling on a street corner. We have a way of just blocking them out,” Bermingham said. “What some people block out, we see as an opportunity.” Out in front in Neenah “The idea was that if we could show that the public was willing to invest, then the private sector would follow,” he said. Shattuck Park’s renovation transformed the area into a venue for festivals, farmers markets, community events and downtown employee lunchtime gatherings. “We chose that park because of the potential for economic development in the area surrounding it,” Buckingham said. “When we realized the turnaround in that area, the fun really began.” The city realized activity on two of five priority economic redevelopment sites. The first was the decision by Alta Resources Corp. in 2005 to construct a $35 million, 180,000-sq. ft. office building with the potential to add more than 300 new jobs to the community. The development, located on an old water canal, was assisted by a $500,000 state grant to remediate what was essentially a contaminated brownfield. To accompany the project, the city paid for the construction of a 1,000-stall parking ramp. Under construction this year is a $12 million senior independent living community at the Island Shores site on the Fox River’s north shore. The other three priority development sites include two that are now surface parking lots and the city’s clock tower site. Community leaders continue to market these to potential developers, Buckingham said. Since 2004, there has been $52 million of public and private dollars reinvested in the downtown, Buckingham said. “We’re seeing businesses improving their buildings and a dramatic change in the employment profile downtown,’ he said. “We now have full occupancy of our storefronts, and we now have more businesses looking to come into the downtown than we have space to fit their need.” The next step, he said, is to find the opportunities to expand the downtown and encourage a greater variety of businesses. “This isn’t something you can rush, because these projects emerge and evolve in their own ways,” he said. “The greatest challenge is maintaining the momentum.” Oshkosh’s 13.3-acre Marion Road/Pearl Avenue Redevelopment Area has been a community priority since 1998, largely because of its location along the Fox River corridor between the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the downtown. Tim Rikkers, vice president for Akcess, said he and his partners in the development group that includes former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson chose the area because of its potential to be an energy center for the city. “We drove here, came over the bridge and thought, ‘This is unbelievable,’” he said. “You’ve got the university three blocks away, the downtown two blocks away and all of this water. This shouldn’t be sitting empty.” Akcess developed plans for an $8 million, three-story office building with Class A office space and a water view for up to six or seven business tenants. Class A space typically features higher end finishes, more glass, an expansive lobby and upgraded landscaping. Rikkers said his group hopes to break ground on the project in November. Akcess is also developing an approximately $10 million, four-story, 98-room Country Inn & Suites hotel with a 7,000-sq. ft. restaurant, both of which will be operated by the Supple Restaurant Group of Oshkosh. The hotel will include group meeting space, Rikkers said. Consolidated Construction Corp. of Appleton is hoping to complete construction during summer of 2008. The development will tie into the first segment of a city-planned four-mile riverwalk that will eventually connect with the recreational trail that currently ends at the Wisconsin Street Bridge. The proposal for the completed riverwalk is to loop around both sides of the Fox River. The city slated construction of the first riverwalk segment to begin in 2008. “The community has a major recreational and aesthetic resource in the Fox River running through heart of the central city and downtown, so it makes all sense in the world to allow people access to that river,” he said. “From an economic development standpoint, new commercial and residential development are enhanced by that public access.” Approval of the Akcess project comes on the heels of the completion of Alexander & Bishop Ltd.’s Morgan Crossing apartment building, a 51-unit luxury complex also located within the redevelopment area. The 750- to 1,400-sq. ft. units are amenity-rich, featuring underground parking, washers and dryers, cable television, wireless and hardwired Internet access throughout, designer lighting, high-end appliances and countertops. It also features a first floor fitness room and a rooftop community room, complete with a 60-inch flat screen television and an outdoor fire pit. Just opened this past September, the apartment complex is approximately half full. Once it reaches 80 percent occupancy, the developer plans to build a second apartment complex just like it, said Alexander & Bishop President Peter Jungbacker. “We’re excited to be part of a burgeoning redevelopment district with strong linkages to the university and the downtown,” he said. “What’s happening within the development is all part of the new knowledge economy, which I believe is the future of real quality growth in northeastern Wisconsin.” Tanesay, a Colorado-based development group which consists of Bermingham and Appleton native Mark Geall, signed an option-to-purchase agreement with property owner Kaukauna Utilities this past April, giving it the right to undergo planning for the 15-acre tract of land beneath the College Avenue bridge. Since then, Bermingham and Geall have been meeting with residents and city planners to develop a proposal that includes a 62-unit condominium built atop 30,000 square feet of retail space that would include a restaurant. The RiverHeath development extends along the river from Lawrence University’s Banta Bowl to Telulah Park. Plans would be to create a riverwalk connecting the park with the walking trail to the south, as well as to create a large open green space – or “heath” – in the center of the development. “For us, it’s been a very easy call to make,” Bermingham said. ”We’re juxtaposing two great assets – all of this open space with the river – to create a fun, happy place to work and live.” Part of the plan also calls for the re-establishment of the historic hydro plant near the location, which would power the buildings on the site. Using alternative energy sources is in keeping with Tanesay’s commitment to environmentally sustainable building practices. Bermingham said they have not yet identified a restaurateur for the project, but are actively seeking one. “It’s on the river, next to a historic hydro plant, and near river lock No. 4 with boats passing back and forth,” he said. “It’s a really unique opportunity.” If RiverHeath becomes a reality, the city of Appleton will have realized the revitalization of one of its largest waterfront brownfields, said Appleton Community Development Director Peter Hensler. The city identified the Kaukauna Utilities site – former home of Consolidated Papers – as one of three priority sites in its riverfront redevelopment master plan. “RiverHeath falls right in line with what we were hoping for,” Hensler said. “Because of its size and because of the tie-in to neighborhoods and the park, our plan strongly recommended mixed-use development emphasizing residential with some compatible commercial uses.” The other two priority sites included the development of Vulcan Heritage Park and the Fratellos Riverfront Brewery & Restaurant, and the site on which Trolley Square is located. Several other sites are yet to be redeveloped, Hensler. “Those industrial uses that were the focus for so long are on the wane, and the river’s changing from industrial to public purpose,” he said. “We do everything we can to make sure public access is incorporated into all of our riverside projects. People want to be there, but for different reasons than in the past.” |