Oshkosh RDA approves lease with Boatworks LLC to enable riverfront redevelopment

The Oshkosh Redevelopment Authority approved a lease with Boatworks LLC that will allow developers to construct 52 residential units on two riverfront parcels and take title when the Department of Natural Resources issues a case-closure approval.

RDA staff said Boatworks LLC (associated with developers Chuck Wiesenberg and Tim Hess) will lease RDA-owned property during construction and that the city will transfer the parcels to the developer after the DNR signs off on the remedial action plan. "They are the developers that are proposing to develop the 52, residential units within 2 buildings on those 2 parcels," RDA staff said.

Staff described this as a standard arrangement for redevelopment on sites with contamination: the developer performs remediation and capping per a DNR-approved remedial action plan and then assumes ownership after the site receives case-closure approval. Staff said contamination at the site is limited, with one small strip near the lagoon subject to a DNR deed restriction related to petroleum contamination; the RDA intends to retain that strip and not disturb it.

Developers will be responsible for ongoing monitoring and required reports under the remedial action plan. The development agreement includes start and completion dates and milestone requirements; staff noted completion dates in the TIF/development paperwork aim for phase completion by June 30, 2027, and include required start dates for each phase. The lease contains a 50-year backstop clause that staff said is standard language suggested by DNR and lenders in case case closure takes longer than expected.

Board members asked about high‑tension utility lines and easement language. Staff said the ATC transmission lines cross portions of the parcel footprint and the city is negotiating easement language with ATC to permit development of the adjacent lots; developers' buildings will not be located directly under the lines.

The board voted on item 24-12 by roll call; Bella Corelli, Scheierman, Hutchinson, Konnick and Muggerauer voted aye and the motion carried. Staff said a related development agreement and a city parcel transfer will go before the city council the following week, and that TIF assistance details will be included in the development agreement.

The lease and development agreement set responsibilities and timelines for remediation, monitoring and completion, and the city will retain limited deed-restricted areas identified by the DNR.