City presents 25‑year downtown visualization; RDA encouraged to consider catalytic sites

City staff presented a conceptual visualization of downtown Oshkosh that shows how the waterfront and core commercial blocks might develop over the next 20–25 years, and they asked the Redevelopment Authority to consider how the RDA might help pursue catalytic opportunities.

Kelly, executive director of the RDA, said the visualization builds on the Imagine Oshkosh plan and community partner work earlier in the year. Staff described several potential catalyst projects: an expanded Opera House Square plaza with a covered performance area and a winter ice‑skating ribbon; redevelopment options for the City Center (Park Plaza) that range from mixed‑use retrofit to a full redevelopment; streetscape and parking‑lot landscaping improvements; and better connections across the Sawyer Street/Oshkosh Ave intersection to pedestrian trails.

Staff said the visualization is intentionally conceptual and not a fixed plan. The presentation referenced a 2021 Roger Brooks recommendation prepared for Discover Oshkosh and noted the city’s previous successful conversions (for example, the Park Plaza conversion into office space decades earlier) as a reason to continue using visualizations to engage the public. Staff said partners including the community foundation, the downtown Business Improvement District and the chamber have given overall positive feedback and that the city will continue public outreach through boards and commissions.

Specific project ideas on the visualization include a larger plaza with a covered stage to protect outdoor programming from inclement weather; an ice‑skating ribbon (smaller than a rink) for winter programming; pocket gathering spaces within public parking areas to support events such as the farmers market; and planting/landscaping upgrades along North Main Street. Staff also said the transit center expansion remains in a phase‑2 planning stage and that staff are engaged with that effort.

RDA members emphasized that visuals often spark public misperception that changes are imminent; staff said they will continue to frame the visualization as a long‑term concept to be implemented opportunistically through public‑private partnerships. Members and staff noted early successes that helped carry previous plans forward — including preservation and reuse of significant downtown buildings — and agreed that an early “statement” project would help galvanize broader work.

Staff said they will circulate the full visualization document to RDA members and continue partner outreach; no formal RDA vote was taken on the visualization itself at this meeting.