The Municipal Services Committee met 06/09/2025. One of the items they discussed was the request to approve the new street design for the Thrivent development project. The conceptual master plan for the development of the Thrivent campus on the north side of town includes mixed-use development of office and retail buildings along Highway 41, a shopping and business corridor to the north, and a mix of single-family homes, multi-family apartments, townhomes, and mixed-used commercial/residential buildings.
The design of the streets before the Municipal Services Committee on 06/09 was just part of one phase of the overall plan.
The committee ended up voting 5-0 to recommend the new street design be approved.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
The memo staff provided essentially speaks for itself. Additionally, the developer put together a website for the public to view the master plan and follow the development scheduled.
Public Works Deputy Director Pete Neuberger told the committee that there had been a lot of really good discussion and collaboration between the city’s engineering division and the property developers as the developers worked through and explored the city’s Complete Streets Design Policy and worked to incorporate the city’s policy into their vision for the aesthetics of the development.
Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) noted that the proposed Road C had a large terrace in the middle and asked if that would involve more expense. Deputy Director Neuberger said that the finished road would have four curb and gutter sections rather than the two a conventional road would have which slightly increase the capital costs of installing the road. Beyond that, the overall street design with two one-way sections going either way, a trail running down the middle terrace, and on-street parking would result in higher on-going maintenance costs, the details of which were yet to be worked out; however, some of the land there was going to be privately owned, so the operation and maintenance costs would not fall on the city.
Alderperson Hartzheim asked if there was a timeframe for when Evergreen Drive would be extended between Meade and Ballard. The neighbors in the area were excited about the prospect of new street connecting east/west between those two roads. Public Works Director Junwirth said that the original intent had been to complete that extension and particularly the intersection at Ballard and Evergreen while Ballard was closed. However, they were still working with the county and were only at the preliminary platting process, so the did not know what the time frame was going to end up looking like.
Alderperson Hartzheim also said that local residents were also concerns about how the new construction would impact the existing Apple Creek Trail. At this point, the developers intended to keep Apple Creek Trail. Work would need to be done to make sure that the timing of the signals at the Ballard/Evergreen intersection facilitated pedestrians crossing that intersection.
Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) asked about how the new roads would impact traffic patterns and volume. Deputy Director Neuberger said that the traffic impact analysis had been based on the entire concept plan for all 600 acres in the development, not just the section that was before the committee that day. “We’re doing what we can based on the information available to make good, sound, long term decision for what’s it’s in the best interest of the city that still meets the vision for the developers.”
City Traffic Engineer Eric Lom told the committee that this development was perhaps the biggest development in the history of the city. When completed, the Ballard/Evergreen intersection “will be the highest capacity intersection in the city by a lot.” They were working hard to come up with a design that worked well for both pedestrians and vehicles.
The committee voted 5-0 to recommend the street design be approved.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1314387&GUID=A409C872-FC6C-46AE-ACC7-7FE0AFEB807F
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