The City Plan Commission met 03/26/2025. The one action item they voted on was a request from the redeveloper of the Chase Bank redevelopment project for a special use permit to allow for a stand-alone off-street parking lot located at the southwest corner of Appleton Street and Washington Street.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend the item for approval.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
The Chase Bank building located at 200 W College Avenue is currently being redeveloped into a mixed-used building with 24 dwelling units as well as commercial and entertainment space. The building has an associated parking lot directly to its north along Appleton Street and Washington Street. This lot previously contained not only parking but also the Chase Bank drive-through window. The developer had demolished the drive-through and would like to turn the entire lot into a parking lot with 67 parking spaces to serve the commercial and residential tenants in the building.
City staff was recommending approval of the special use permit for the parking lot contingent on a couple of conditions:
- The Johnston Street alleyway currently does not technically run all the way through from Superior Street to Appleton Street. A section along Appleton Street is part of the Chase Bank lot, although that area is essentially part of the parking lot and provides access to Appleton Street. The developer has agreed to dedicate that portion of the lot as a public right of way so that the Johnston Street alley will continue to be open and accessible all the way from Superior Street to Appleton Street.
- There is a Chase Bank sign on the parking lot parcel that no longer conformed to Municipal Code since the drive-through was demolished. That sign will need to be removed.
Mayor Woodford said that he was generally not a fan of surface parking in the downtown central business district because generally such parking was not the highest and best use of the land. In this case, he thought it made sense to approve the special use permit because of the level of investment that was being made in the Chase Bank redevelopment project and the fact that the lot had already been operating as a parking lot. He expressed the hope that in the future there might be opportunities to develop the site further in a way that both incorporated parking but also further activated the site.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend the special use permit be approved.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1263781&GUID=05036BFF-2844-4003-9A8F-2E79E8ADAA63
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