From a boutique hotel and mixed-use housing to a major bridge replacement, a panel of development leaders outlined a wave of investment in Greater Oshkosh Feb. 19 at the Oshkosh Chamber WSA 2026 Developer’s Panel hosted at Oshkosh Corporation’s headquarters.
The panel was moderated by Karen Schneider, founder of Winnebago Media Group. Panelists included Steve Kilian Jr., president of Kilian Management Services; Bill Bertrand, Winnebago County project manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation; Nick Patterson, development manager at T. Wall Enterprises; Kelsie Lally, owner of Ameena Design and Jim Erdman, co-owner of D&J Quality Construction. Lally and Erdman also serves as director and president, respectively, of T.J. Rodgers’ Team SNW, which is rebranding as a Rodgers Company.
Mill on Main
Patterson, development manager at T. Wall Enterprises, shared that Phase I of Mill on Main — a mixed-use development at 700 S. Main St. — received occupancy Feb. 5 and is now welcoming residents. Leases are being signed, tours are underway, and the development’s commercial spaces along the Fox River and Main Street are generating strong interest.
The 114-unit first building includes a mix of studio to three-bedroom apartments. When Phase Three is completed in 2030, there will be nearly 300 total units. Patterson said the phased approach allows each building to lease up before the next breaks ground, preventing market saturation and ensuring project quality throughout.
On the commercial side, Patterson said there is an active letter of intent on the high-visibility riverfront space, and Main Street suites are being marketed for concepts such as coffee shops, wine bars and salons.
A public grand opening event is planned for April 23.
“We’re not trying to create an apartment land. We’re trying to create a home, a community, placemaking where people can gather,” Patterson said.
Jackson Street bridge
Bertrand of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation outlined plans for replacing the aging Jackson Street lift bridge with a new, high-level fixed bridge.
Construction is scheduled to begin in August or September 2028, with completion targeted for fall 2030. During the two-year build, river navigation will be maintained throughout the April-to-mid-October boating season.
In addition to the bridge itself, the project includes full roadway reconstruction on both shores from roughly Sixth Avenue on the south side to the Marion Road intersection on the north, realignment of Division Street and the relocation of the Oshkosh Area Chamber of Commerce building.
While acknowledging the potential disruption of the construction, Bertrand noted that Oshkosh’s collaboration with WisDOT during its Main Street reconstruction over a decade ago is still used as a regional template for managing business impacts during major construction.
“The business community in Oshkosh is particularly active,” he said. “We appreciate the active environment that exists down here.”
The Main Street bridge, which has been closed for construction since September, is on track to reopen mid-April.
Northwestern building hotel takes shape
Oshkosh native and businessman T.J. Rodgers purchased the Oshkosh Northwestern building in 2021 and it is currently being renovated into a 31-room boutique hotel. Lally said the hotel will evoke the building’s original 1930s elegance throughout.
Retail spaces within the hotel will include a coffee shop, candy store, flower shop, salon, tailor, cobbler, wine and cheese shop, Italian grocery and a high-end women’s boutique. Several of these will be independently operated by local business owners.
“The interior of the building is a work of art — something you could replicate today but wouldn’t want to,” Lally said. “We’re restoring the lobby back to original, and that’s going to be what attracts people.”
On the decision not to pursue historic preservation tax credits, Erdman said the team wanted the freedom to exceed the original rather than simply restore it. “We chose not to apply for those grants because it gives us the opportunity to set the pace of the project,” he said.
Completion of the main hotel is now targeted for spring 2027, with the lobby bar area potentially opening earlier. Following the hotel, the team plans to develop a spa at 208 State St., directly south of Truffle Pig restaurant which is also opened and operated by the Rodgers team.
Upcoming developments include the Kalbus Campground — a site owned by Rodgers that has been identified for future development. Lally said the team has a new restaurant concept in the works but needs to find the right building for it.
Erdman acknowledged that Rodgers’ unconventional process is a departure from the way most development projects are evaluated.
“It’s not location, location, location. We don’t study metrics. T.J. breaks all those rules,” he said. [TJ and Valeta Rodgers] have a commitment to their hometown, and they want to reinvest here, so they buy properties that have potential.”
Second Tommy’s Express Car Wash coming to Applebee’s site
Kilian, who owns and operates 52 McDonald’s restaurants across Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, also opened Tommy’s Express Car Wash at 2100 Omro Road in the Town of Algoma. The location, anchored at Tommy’s Plaza alongside a Seven Brew coffee drive-through, has been the number one opening for the car wash system, he said.
Kilian confirmed that a second Tommy’s Express Car Wash is set to break ground next month at the former Applebee’s site, with a target opening of November. When evaluating new sites for the brand, Kilian said he prioritizes demographics, site accessibility and communities that are willing to partner with developers.
“There are some communities that are great to work with, and some that are challenging,” Kilian said. “Oshkosh has been very welcoming, and we appreciate that very much.”
