The Appleton Redevelopment Authority met 11/17/2022 and voted unanimously to proceed with selling 222 N Oneida Street (the former site of the Menn Law Firm building) to Valley Transit so that they can build a new and expanded mixed-use transit center.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the full meeting which includes the presentation the ARA received on the proposed development along with the Power Point slides that went along with the presentation.
This agreement is subject to 4 contingencies being met:
- Valley Transit will set aside $50,000 for site remediation. Any amount not used for remediating could be applied to the purchase of the property or refunded. If remediation efforts cost more than $50,000, Valley Transit would have the option to terminate the offer to purchase.
- Valley Transit will have permission to access the Property for geotechnical and similar testing to evaluate the property’s suitability for development. In the event such test results reveal the property is not suitable for the intended development, Valley Transit could rescind the offer.
- The Federal Transit Administration must approve the purchase of the Property.
- The Appleton Common Council must approve the purchase of the Property.
Valley Transit General Manager Ron McDonald shared a presentation about the project that they had been giving to “stakeholder groups”. This included some background on the project, their vision for the project, and their goals for the project.
They want to expand the transit center to accommodate future Valley Transit growth while supporting downtown redevelopment. They want to fund the project with federal grants that typically cover 80% of these sorts of projects with the other 20% being covered by a local match.
The development will be mixed-use with a transit center on the ground floor and some sort of private enterprise on the second floor. In the past, it has been somewhat up-in-the-air as to what will be on the top floor, but during this meeting General Manager McDonald said that it would be a residential facility. He went on to say that one of the important aspects of having a residential facility at that location was the proximity to the yellow parking ramp, and there were plans to install a skywalk from the parking ramp to the apartment complex.
They had reviewed 6 different sites including the current location and all 5 of the other sites were deemed inadequate for this project for various reasons including they were not publicly owned, did not have direct access to parking, or had additional costs associated with moving to those locations.
During their meetings with “stakeholders” [I really hate that term because it’s incredibly vague and can be made to apply to anyone whether or not they have an actual financial stake in the project] they sought input on things like facility features, downtown development, comfort and safety, and partnership opportunities. [Apparently, they also sought feedback on the ill-defined term “connections” which means who-knows-what.]
[Additionally, of note, one of the presentation PowerPoint slides featured a truly stunning example of the sort of public art we might expect to see grace this new transit center. I’m sure the entire city will be thrilled.]
General Manager McDonald noted that they were using an online interactive survey and map to gather feedback from the public. [It sounds as if, unlike the public, “stakeholders” were already reached out to in person and proactively given presentations and asked for their thoughts on the project. But now that project is moving forward, the plebs are free to give their feedback.]
Marissa Downs, the chairperson of the Appleton Redevelopment Authority, asked some questions regarding what would happen should it turn out that it cost more than $50,000 to remediate the site and Valley Transit pulled out of the deal. What would happen if they had a partially cleaned up property and no buyer? Would they then have to complete site remediation?
City Economic Development Specialist Matt Rehbein did not have any definitive answers. He did not know if the ARA could hit the pause button on remediation as they have currently been able to do or if they would have to complete remediation.
ARA member Jim Van Dyke asked if they had funds they could use to complete remediation. Mr. Rehbein responded that they had spent just over $8,000 already on the site, and the ARA currently had around $25,000 in its coffers that were not allocated at this point.
Community and Economic Development Director Karen Harkness said they would also have the right and responsibility to ask the Common Council for additional funds if needed. “. I don’t think it’s in anybody’s best interest to leave this site unfinished and unusable. So, I think that there’ll be support if Valley Transit wouldn’t want to move on to finish the remediation on the site. I think that there would be Council support to be able to finish that.”
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1055279&GUID=36EAAC71-92E1-4CBD-A5D1-D27EF10C603D
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