The Buzz: Eyesore no more in downtown Appleton?

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The former North Shore Bank branch in downtown Appleton is slated for redevelopment.(Photo: Maureen Wallenfang/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

A sow’s ear in downtown Appleton has the potential to become a silk purse.

In 2013, Lawrence University bought the former North Shore Bank branch at 320 E. College Ave., mostly because it needed the 56-stall parking lot behind it.

The bank is a battered black and beige building with mauve pillars and a broken digital clock. The History Museum at the Castle sits on one side and Dr. Jekyll’s and Heid Music are on the other. The bank left in 2011.

Other than a six-month loan to a refugee resettlement agency as a furniture donation site, Lawrence has only used the building for storage.

“The building’s in tear-down condition,” said Jake Woodford, assistant to LU president Mark Burstein and manager of the institution’s real estate.

“From a design perspective, it’s a challenge to redevelop. There are awkward level changes within the building. The mechanicals are shot.”

They knew using the building for storage wasn’t the highest and best use, he said, so the university put out a request for proposals from developers.

“We think about this part of College Avenue as a front door to the campus. A vibrant downtown is so important for Lawrence,” Woodford said. “We want to be good stewards of this property. We want to make sure a development goes into this space that meets the needs of downtown and coordinates with its comprehensive plan. If we just put it up for sale, we don’t have the opportunity to make a selection.”

Developers’ proposals are due April 6, and they’ll pick out the best one by summer.

“We’ve heard back from a few developers. There’s a lot of interest in the project,” he said.

A proposal would likely be mixed-use, including ground-level retail and residential space on the second floor. Proposals might include some kind of sale or long-term ground lease, he said, and costs would be sorted out in negotiations.

“We anticipate that someone will tear it down. We’ll entertain any proposals we receive. We don’t want to limit the possibilities. Someone may say they can renovate the building,” he said.

Developers can include the “art alley” between the bank and the museum, which is part of the property. They might also include a second parcel in back, 323 E. Washington St., a parking lot surrounding Seth’s Coffee drive-thru.

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