Park Place Holdings, a De Pere-based commercial real estate investment firm, is constructing South River MicroFlats, an adaptive reuse project converting a portion of the office building at 1101 E. South River into a micro-apartment community.
The project is slated for completion in April 2026, and pre-leasing is already underway.
South River MicroFlats will offer 15 studio and one-bedroom apartments with floor plans ranging from 275 to 438 square feet. Furnished and unfurnished units will be available for lease terms ranging from one month to one year.
“South River MicroFlats reflects our commitment to reinvesting in Wisconsin communities in ways that respond to real housing needs,” said Caleb Hayes, CEO and founder of Park Place Holdings. “Short-term housing remains a critical need in Appleton, especially for traveling professionals, new employees, and individuals in transition. Fully furnished apartments with flexible lease terms, even as short as one month, allow residents to settle in quickly without the cost or burden of moving furniture or committing to a long-term lease.”
Originally built in 1952, the building was part of The Institute of Paper Chemistry, a graduate research institution founded through a partnership between Lawrence College, now Lawrence University, and Wisconsin’s paper industry. After the institute relocated to Atlanta in 1989, the property sat vacant for nearly a decade before being renovated into professional office space in the early 2000s. In 2004, the building received a Historic Preservation/Restoration Certificate Award from the Appleton Historic Preservation Commission.
Park Place Holdings is exploring the addition of up to 90 apartments within the existing property as part of a potential expansion.
