Developers envision City Center Plaza in downtown Appleton as a hub for health and wellness services
APPLETON - Two local developers have unveiled plans to revitalize and rebrand City Center Plaza as Fox Commons, which they envision as a thriving urban hub anchored by health and wellness tenants.
Dark Horse Development and The Boldt Co. are the principals behind the effort. The Fox Commons website lists Mosaic Family Health, Gener8tor and J. Geiger Consulting Inc. as prospective tenants.
Cole Alsbach, vice president of operations for Dark Horse Development, said he has an option to purchase the 180,000-square-foot City Center Plaza and has been working to secure tenants. He said he plans to make "a go or no-go decision within the next two months."
"We don't have leases signed," Alsbach told The Post-Crescent on Monday. "We have a lot of intent, per se. If we go forward, then this is all on-board, but nothing is signed on the dotted line at this point."
City Center Plaza is about 50% occupied and in need of a refresh. Alsbach said his plan calls for remodeling the exterior facades on College Avenue and on the north side of the building and for "a complete transformation of the interior common space to create a more attractive and welcoming atmosphere to draw in the community residents and create a true gathering place."
"We really believe that this is going to be the next transformational project for downtown Appleton, serving as that catalyst for continued growth in our already vibrant community," he said.
Appleton's Comprehensive Plan for downtown identifies the revitalization of City Center Plaza as a priority. It calls for the creation of a pedestrian-friendly corridor to more prominently link College Avenue and the area around the Appleton Public Library.
The new plan shows Mosaic Family Health as an anchor on the north side of the building. Mosaic is a downtown clinic that provides health care to underserved populations in the Fox Valley. It is located at 229 S. Morrison St. on land sought by U.S. Venture for its new corporate headquarters.
Mosaic received more than $7.7 million through the American Rescue Plan Act to fund the relocation and expansion of its clinic.
Lee Vogel, executive director of Mosaic Family Health, confirmed the clinic is negotiating with Dark Horse and Boldt to relocate to Fox Commons. She said clinical care would be located on the first floor and residency education would be located on the second floor. There would be a provision for contiguous parking for patients.
"We've been asked to relocate from our current location on the bluff so there's the final piece of room for U.S. Venture," Vogel said, "and we've been working diligently for several years to find the right landing place for Mosaic."
Alsbach plans to attract other health and wellness tenants specializing in medical/group fitness, behavioral health or nutrition counseling to complement the programming and services offered by Mosaic.
Boldt would serve as co-developer. Its real estate development division has national experience in creating common areas anchored by health and wellness tenants.
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Fox Commons also would foster a co-working space and startup incubator environment anchored by Gener8tor, which has offices in Madison and Milwaukee. It would operate along the lines of Titletown Tech in Ashwaubenon.
Alsbach declined to disclose the estimated cost of the Fox Commons redevelopment, noting it's still early in the process. He has been in contact with Appleton planners and said Dark Horse would seek public assistance for the project through Tax Incremental Financing District 11.
The build-out of the project would take about two years from approval.
"So in a perfect world, if everything goes per schedule, you're looking at the end of 2024," Alsbach said.
Dark Horse secured TIF assistance earlier this year to support its redevelopment of the former Anchor Bank building in Menasha into commercial space and apartments.
That project, called Harbor Lofts, will have an estimated value of $3.1 million and is on track for completion by the end of the year.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: City Center Plaza in downtown Appleton seen as hub for health services
