The city of Appleton continues to navigate its way toward development of the 600-acre Wilden Portfolio Park.
Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford, along with Ian Martin, founder of developer Land by Label, spoke about the project Wednesday at an event hosted by The Commercial Association of REALTORS Wisconsin.
Woodford, who pointed out the city is in active negotiations of Land by Label, says, “This project represents a tremendous opportunity for our community and to have an infill project of this magnitude in the city the size of Appleton is just an extraordinary thing.”
The project is the result of Thrivent announcing in 2023 that it wanted to redevelop its campus which lies north of Interstate 41. It spent several years gathering community input and developing guiding principles for the project.
Martin says beyond its fiduciary responsibilities, Thrivent’s strong vision makes it possible to develop the property in ways that otherwise would not work.
“We have a willing seller who has reasonable price expectations,” Martin says. “We have a city who has given us the ability to execute on any large number of uses through the zoning structure.”
That will help developers, like Land by Label, offer housing options that are not commonly seen locally or even in Wisconsin, according to Martin.
He expects that beyond estate lot, single family homes, there will be market rate rentals, senior housing, cottage courts and entry level housing for rent or sale.
“It’s the breadth of the housing that makes it interesting and appealing,” Martin says. “You can feel the housing tension here.”
Martin says the key for developing the full breadth of the housing planned is to figure out how to sell the land to developers at a price that allows them to consider types of housing beyond large, single-family homes.
The city will use tax incremental financing to help with infrastructure for the initial 250 acres to be developed, according to Woodford. The timing is crucial because the city would like TIF approval to be as close as possible to actual development starting. TIF Districts have limited lifespans, and the Wilden Portfolio Park Project has been labeled as “multi-generational.”
Martin says when work begins, there will likely be a little bit of everything from retail and office space to housing developed in the first five years. He adds that some trails and recreational development will be built and that will make the other offerings more attractive.
While Land by Label will focus on market rate rental and neighborhood retail development within the site, Martin says there will be opportunities for other developers to work with Thrivent and Colliers.
