Recent development projects in Oshkosh are enhancing and taking advantage of its showcase amenity: the Fox River.
“Really, the most important and most exciting thing happening in Oshkosh right now is the riverfront development,” says Sean Fitzgerald, economic development director for the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. “We have three big projects that kicked off in 2024 that really are absorbing a lot of the remaining riverfront shoreline in Oshkosh.”
Collectively, the projects amount to $120 million to $130 million and take up about 30 acres.
Froedtert ThedaCare
Construction started in March 2024 on the Froedtert ThedaCare Health Center on the site of the former JELD‑WEN/Morgan Door factory and will be completed this year.
The center, which is being built in concert with a similar project in Fond du Lac, was planned as a two-story facility. In August, developers sought permission to add a third story with some additional offices, Fitzgerald says.
“I think they had such a positive response to potential tenants because it’s a hospital and a medical office building,” says Mark Rohloff, recently-retired Oshkosh city manager. “The demand is there. And having a health facility in the central part of the city is a great addition.”
Mill on Main
Another significant project underway is the Mill on Main housing development in the city’s Sawdust District, which is south of the Main Street bridge. The 8-acre, $40 million-plus project by T Wall Enterprises of Middleton adds 296 market-rate apartment units with four stories, an underground parking garage and first floor commercial/retail/restaurant space, Fitzgerald says.
The project will be completed in three phases, with phase one planned for completion in spring 2026.
While no businesses have been signed yet for the commercial space, “we’ve had some conversations with the developer about putting a restaurant at the space up front that’s right along the river,” Fitzgerald says. For the rest of the commercial area that faces Main Street, “they’re interested in attracting some service-type of businesses, so, salons, nail technicians, accounting offices, coffee shops — businesses that can cater to the growing residential population within a couple of blocks there that they can walk to.”
Boatworks Marina
The third riverfront project is another multifamily housing project further upriver closer to the Ohio Street bridge on the site of the former Boatworks Marina. The project, developed by Wesenberg Architects of Oshkosh, will be completed in two phases, with the first having 26 units and the second 30 units.
“Those are being developed as what’s being referred to as workforce housing. The rents are a bit lower on those; they’re between $900 and $1,100 [a month],” Fitzgerald says. “Construction just started on those in October, with a late 2025 leasing and tenancy.”
More housing
Another major housing project on the northwest side of the Highway 41/Highway 45 interchange — on the shore of Lake Butte des Morts — will bring 522 more units to Oshkosh, with the first building planned for completion mid-year, Fitzgerald says. That project, which began last year, is being constructed by Red Earth LLC of Tomah.
Fitzgerald says between multiple housing projects across the community, Oshkosh will add well over 1,000 housing units. “We certainly see other communities in Northeast Wisconsin are building new residential units just as aggressively as we are here, and we need to keep our housing competitive for our residents,” he says.
Reflecting on progress
Rohloff, who retired at the end of the year, spent 41 years in local government, including 16 years in Oshkosh. He says he’s seen Oshkosh develop significantly in his time as city manager.
“One of the things that I’m very proud of is the fact that we were able to give ourselves some focus by committing ourselves to strategic planning. That enabled us to find our North Star in terms of what things we wanted to prioritize,” Rohloff says. “And that, I think, helped change our culture to be more optimistic about our ability to achieve something.”
When Rohloff arrived in Oshkosh, infrastructure was a big issue, he says. “I came here right after the storms and the floods of 2008, and that needed to get addressed. And so we attacked stormwater with a great deal of vigilance.”
While the city still has a way to go, it is 16 years into a 35-year plan and has made significant progress. The city also has been tackling capital improvement to roads and replacing antique utilities, some of which dated to the 1800s. “I’m proud to say that with some very few exceptions, we’ve got the 1800s behind us,” he says.
As of November, the city council had conducted interviews for Rohloff’s replacement. Rohloff jokes that he’s a product of the 1980s and says “our next generation needs to take what we’ve accomplished and build upon that … I’m really proud of the accomplishments that I’ve been part of, but I’m even more looking forward to what will be done on top of those accomplishments.”
A few other recent projects include:
- The 28-unit MK Lofts opened in the former Miles Kimball headquarters building, seeing its first tenant at the end of 2024.
- The former Waterfront Hotel & Convention Center, acquired by Scarlett Hotel Group in 2023, was recently refurbished and is now operating as a Marriott. The hotel’s Anchor & Port restaurant opened in December.
- Under construction at the former Lakeshore Golf Course is a Golden Nest Pancakes & Café, an upscale brunch restaurant with additional locations in Sun Prairie and Wauwatosa.
- In the Southwest Industrial Park, 4imprint completed a 175,000-square-foot expansion to its distribution center, with a focus on sustainability. The company added to an existing solar panel array, now including more than 400 solar panels and a closed-circuit TV system within the facility that displays how much electricity is being generated.
- Other industrial projects may be forthcoming as city officials talk with “a number of manufacturers that are ready to expand,” Fitzgerald says, adding “the details of those projects haven’t been finalized at this point, so there isn’t much we can reveal. But businesses are certainly ready to grow, and we found that the interest rate environment is helping them make these decisions.”
