MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, AUGUST 2005

APPLETON
Karen Stone, CCIM

Appleton is experiencing fairly balanced growth in all four primary real estate sectors. Since its incorporation as a city in 1853, Appleton has been the center of the U.S. paper industry. Kimberly-Clark, Fox River Paper Company, Appleton Papers and similar companies historically have been the primary drivers of the area’s economy. During the last 30 years, the economy has become more diversified, as  the insurance, telemarketing, finance, health care, specialty machinery manufacturing and retailing industries have all developed a strong presence.

On the southeast side at State Highway 441 and Calumet Street, Appleton-based Commercial Horizons is adding more stores to a 1 million-square-foot retail cluster, that includes Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Target and Kohl’s. Construction on a free standing OfficeMax is expected to begin soon.

In the office market, refurbishing existing space is more prevalent than new construction. “There is an adequate supply of office space in the market right now, in part due to the merger of Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) and Lutheran Brotherhood into Thrivent Financial,” says Peter Hensler, director of economic development for Appleton. AAL vacated a 220,000-square-foot, 10-story building, which was purchased by several local investors and refurbished. The investors have been marketing space in the building since January and it is now about 60 percent leased, according to Hensler.

Several medical offices are underway in the  Northeast Business Park, which is located at US Highway 41 and State Highway 441. For example, 16 acres were recently sold to a private developer for a 50,000-square-foot orthopedic clinic and two other parcels were sold for an 18,000-square-foot pediatrics office and a 35,000-square-foot general practice office.

On the industrial side of the Northeast Business Park, AirGas bought a 10-acre parcel last spring. The company plans to build a 50,000-square-foot distribution and sales facility. Also, Custom Machinery Design is completing a new 40,000-square-foot building that it will use as an R & D center. And C3 is building an 18,000-square-foot expansion, which it will use to manufacture custom machinery.

There is also activity occurring in the downtown area. “We have always had a strong, vibrant, attractive downtown,” Hensler says. The city is trying to add to downtown’s appeal by integrating the Fox River, which is separated from downtown by a bluff, more fully into the downtown experience. Several projects have been undertaken to accomplish this, including the $4 million renovation of the historic Atlas Mill into the 20,000-square-foot Paper Industry International Hall of Fame (PIIHF) and 22,000 square feet of office/commercial space. Randy Stadtmueller of Stadtmueller & Associates partnered with PIIHF to develop the property.

Rollie Winter & Associates is developing Trolley Square in Appleton, Wis.

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