Appleton, Wis., is looking for a developer to build housing on one of the most valuable empty lots in its downtown, a former parking structure site the city demolished after structural deficiencies left it unusable.
The former Blue Ramp sat near College Avenue, the commercial spine of Appleton's downtown, before the city tore it down amid documented structural deficiencies. Rather than replace it with another parking structure, city leaders want to see the site become a mixed-use or residential development, a decision that reflects both the city's long-running downtown reinvention strategy and a regional housing market under serious strain. Median home prices in the Appleton metro have risen roughly 40% since 2019, and housing production has not kept pace with steady population growth in the Fox Cities region.
The city has posted a request for proposals inviting developers to submit plans for the site. What gets built there will signal whether downtown Appleton can attract the kind of residential density its own planning documents have called for since 2017, when the city's Downtown Plan explicitly recommended converting underused parking into mixed-use development. The 2023 Comprehensive Plan reinforced housing as a top priority.
Appleton has already invested heavily in its downtown core: the $44 million Fox Cities Exhibition Center opened in 2018, and a $100 million-plus renovation of the Appleton Public Library is currently underway. Mayor Jake Woodford, re-elected in 2024, has made downtown housing a signature priority of his administration.
The timing also coincides with new tools from the state. Wisconsin's 2023 bipartisan housing package created loan programs specifically aimed at workforce housing, infill development and conversion projects, offering potential financing options for developers who take on the Blue Ramp site.
The Blue Ramp decision carries weight beyond this single parcel. Appleton faces a broader reckoning with its aging mid-century parking infrastructure, and several other downtown ramps are nearing end-of-life. How the city handles this site could set the template for what comes next.
