The city of Appleton has the best of both worlds when it comes to economic development — it not only has open land to build on, but it also has multiple redevelopment opportunities.
“We’re lucky we have room to grow, but we can’t forget about the infrastructure we have in place and how we can best use it,” says Kara Homan, the city’s community development director.
The city’s largest economic development opportunity — the redevelopment of Thrivent’s 580-acre property just north of Interstate 41 — keeps moving forward. Known as Wilden Portfolio Park, the mixed-use property will include a new 155,000-square-foot Thrivent office building and commercial and retail spaces on the property’s south side before transitioning to a mixture of housing types and recreational spaces, says Kristie Schwahn, manager of facilities and workplace solutions with Thrivent Financial.
“This is a decades-long project and we’ve split it into phases. We’re working on the first phase now, which is 250 acres,” she says.
Thrivent is currently coordinating a variety of permits so the project can move forward. The goal is to begin sitework next spring.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a thriving hub north of U.S. 41 for the city of Appleton,” Homan says.
Thrivent’s current building is 680,000 square feet and the company is looking at alternative uses for it, including office space or civic use. Thrivent needs less office space now that its 1,500 area employees work a hybrid schedule.
As Thrivent put its redevelopment plan together, Schwahn says the company listened to community members about what they wanted to see at the site. Keeping the current walking trails and adding other recreation space were frequently mentioned along with a variety of housing, including single-family residences and multi-family options.
Thrivent plans to work with a variety of developers on the property.
“We’ve received a lot of interest from developers across all potential uses,” Schwahn says. “We’re very pleased.”
Downtown developments
Downtown Appleton remains a busy place for development, with several projects that finished this year and several more in the works.
In 2025, the redeveloped Appleton Public Library and the new Trout Museum of Art building both opened. The new Trout building on the corner of College Avenue and Drew Street includes the museum on the ground floor with Lawrence University classrooms and offices on the second floor. Market rate apartments fill the building’s third and fourth floors.
The next downtown development in the works is a new Valley Transit Center on the site of the current building, Homan says. Appleton received a $25 million federal grant to redevelop the center to include 14 covered bus bays, indoor waiting areas, public restrooms and a police dispatch station. A private developer is looking to build housing above the transit center.
The former Blue Ramp site is being prepared for the next stage of the Urbane development, which will be built by the Merge Urban Development Group. The site will mimic what is at Urbane 115 and include apartments and mixed-use space on the ground floor.
U.S. Venture is also remodeling the interior of the 222 Building as it prepares to move its headquarters to the site. While there are few changes to the exterior, Homan said the building’s interior is being completely redone.
First Five Fox Valley purchased the former Trout Museum on Houdini Plaza and is remodeling it into a Family Resource Center. The first floor will be transformed into a children’s play area while the upper floors will provide resources for area families. The $8 million space is set to open next summer.
Business park expansion
The city’s expansion of South Point Commerce Park on Appleton’s south side is complete and ready for tenants. The city added 12 ready-to-build, light industrial lots ranging from three to 12 acres to the park between Eisenhower Drive and Coop Road.
The park’s infrastructure was completed earlier this year, and marketing of the sites has begun.
“The commerce park contains the city’s first conservancy, which is 30 acres of protected trees and wetlands and will have trails,” Homan says. “We plan to also add a trail along the utility right-of-way. Both will provide opportunities for employees to walk during breaks or before or after work.”
On the city’s north side, the Northeast Business Park is adding a multi-tenant building for Rivian Automotive Inc. and Paul Davis Restoration Development near the intersection of Northland Avenue and State 441.
Planning for the future
The City of Appleton is seeking to create sub‑area comprehensive plans for the Northland Avenue/Richmond Street, Wisconsin Avenue and South Oneida Street corridors. Homan says the city is talking with property owners about the area’s future and looking at redevelopment opportunities.
Appleton’s comprehensive plan update will include future zoning code updates to ease development and offer greater flexibility, she says.
“We found success when we did sub‑area plans for College Avenue, and the neighborhood north of College and hope to see that here,” Homan says.
