Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 8:05 AM EST Jan 6, 2020
A few projects are on the books for 2020, but the year is also likely to bring surprises.
Will someone take the empty Sears, Younkers and Shopko buildings? Will Frank’s Pizza Palace ever reopen? Will Aldi turn thumbs up or down on Richmond Street?
If any of those things happen, they’ll be in future columns.
Here’s a sampling of more than 30 big and small projects and developments known right now. Plus, scroll down to the bottom of this story to see additional closures in 2019.
Appleton
•Willow, the newest and largest RiverHeath building on the Fox River, opens in June. The $25 million building has apartments, office space and retail.
Archive: Buzz Mailbag question: What’s that digging on riverfront?
•Downtown Appleton will gain traction as a place to live with five apartment projects underway or proposed. Gabriel Lofts is slated to open this spring. Another called Avant is underway on E. Washington Street. Three more are scheduled to start construction this year — Crescent Lofts in the Post-Crescent building and College Avenue projects in the 800 West and 300 East blocks.
More: Downtown Appleton, broadly defined, is home to about 9,000 residents, and the demand for housing is high
•New owners are negotiating to take the closed Gibson Music Hall in downtown Appleton. They’ll rename it Gibson Community Music Hall. It will again be a live music venue, with original music taking center stage.
•More downtown: Sushi Lover and the resurrected Author’s Kitchen + Bar are in the works and aim for early spring openings. The 513 is a new event space/office space in the former Wichmann building at 513 W. College Ave.
More: The Buzz: New all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant coming to downtown Appleton
More: The Buzz: Author’s Kitchen + Bar starts new chapter
More: The Buzz: Wichmann Building to host events in downtown Appleton
•Beyond downtown: Wisconsin Swim Academy opens this spring on E. Evergreen Drive. Thai Ginger Bistro aims to open in about a month at 1619 W. College Ave. River Tyme Bistro is taking shape in the former Atlas restaurant space on Appleton’s riverfront.
More: The Buzz: New cafe takes Atlas space in Appleton
Buchanan/Darboy
•Starbucks and Aspen Dental will be ready by summer in a building in front of Kohl’s. •Panera Bread is proposed for a building on County KK east of U.S. Cellular/Chipotle.
Fox Crossing
•Speedway is putting a truck stop/convenience store at Interstate 41/Winchester Road.
Grand Chute
•REI, a consumer co-op that sells outdoor equipment and apparel, is slated to open in May on the northern end of the WG&R-led development at Wisconsin Avenue/Interstate 41.
Archive: The Buzz: REI starts making plans for Grand Chute store
•Culver’s of Grand Chute will begin flipping butter burgers today, Monday. It’s at 850 E. Evergreen Drive north of Meijer. In the larger picture, it’s part of State 47/Interstate 41 development that will unfold over the next few years.
•In the Fox River Mall, Lush opens in late March. Down the hall, Kay Jewelers will close Jan. 25.
More: The Buzz: Lush store is on the way
More: The Buzz: Two mall store closures
•More Grand Chute projects this year: Auto Zone, Pizza Ranch, Tony Nguyen Vietnamese Cuisine, Casey’s General Store at the former Tri City Glass site and a mini storage facility at the former Monarch Gardens site.
Menasha
•Casey’s General Store submitted plans to Menasha’s plan commission for a new convenience store/gas station at the site of the former B.J. Clancy’s on Oneida Street. The proposal says the B.J. Clancy’s building would be torn down. The closing date for the sale of the property is March 31.
•Downtown has two projects in development. A $10 million commercial/residential project is slated for the former Brin Building site. Menasha Market/One Forty Main, the former city hall building, is courting creative tenants.
More: Downtown gateway: Menasha moves forward with $10 million redevelopment of Brin property
Neenah
Two large apartment projects are underway on Winneconne Avenue. One is at County CB and the other faces the Neenah Slough.
More: Medical clinics underway for 2020, 2021
Four new clinics are underway in the Fox Cities. Two will be finished by the end of the year and two others will open in 2021.
•Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Kaukauna’s Commerce Crossing is slated for a summer opening. It’s a clinic offering primary and specialty care plus outpatient surgery and urgent care. The facility is visible from Interstate 41 near State 55. City building permits list its construction cost just under $12.7 million.
•The Orthopedic Surgery Center of the Fox Valley will be ready for patients at the end of 2020 in Fox Crossing. It’s a joint project of Ascension Wisconsin and Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Specialists. The $15 million facility is a clinic and orthopedic ambulatory surgery center. It’s at 1205 W. American Drive, near the County CB exit on State 10.
•ThedaCare will build a new $144 million medical building on Appleton’s north side connected to its Encircle Health campus. It’s expected to open in late 2021. The 230,000-square-foot center will specialize in orthopedic, spine and pain treatment. ThedaCare’s partners in the facility are the Hand to Shoulder Center of Wisconsin and Neuroscience Group.
More: ThedaCare announces $144 million project that will bring a new specialty hospital to Appleton
•Keesler Orthodontics purchased the former Burger King property at 977 S. Green Bay Road in Neenah, and is currently demolishing the existing restaurant building. It will build a new clinic at the site, likely finishing in 2021, according to city records.
2019: Goodbye to more stores
Previous stories on 2019 closures:
More: The Buzz: Year in Review, Part 2: 2019 closures
More: The Buzz: Family Video in Neenah to close
More: The Buzz: Pizza King on Wisconsin Avenue to close
More business closures were revealed just before 2020 was ushered in the door:
•Doolittlz: The children’s hair salon closed last Tuesday in Darboy. Its De Pere salon remains open.
•Regis: The hair salon closed Tuesday in the Fox River Mall.
•Tasty Treats and Eats: The bakery/cafe closed Christmas Eve at 2171 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton.
•Los Tres Manantiales: The small Mexican restaurant/takeout closed at 135 E. Wisconsin Ave., Appleton. “I closed the restaurant but am still in business,” owner Laura Gayton said in an email. “I’m doing catering business for special events, different companies, Mile of Music this coming year, farmers markets for Appleton and Oshkosh, year-round food truck events, etc.” Contact: 920-422-4569 or by Facebook messenger
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
Let’s block ads! (Why?)
