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Plan Commission backs recommending city buy downtown City Center site, residents raise contamination concerns
Summary
The Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend the City Council acquire the City Center parcels at 201 Pearl Ave and 101 Commerce St for redevelopment. A longtime resident warned of likely contamination from historic coal piles; staff said a Phase I environmental review has been done and additional testing would follow.
The City of Oshkosh Plan Commission on May 19 recommended that the City Council approve acquisition of the City Center site — two condominium parcels at 201 Pearl Avenue and 101 Commerce Street — as part of a downtown redevelopment effort.
Staff presented the request and said the acquisition would align with the city’s comprehensive plan and downtown redevelopment plan and is an early, multi‑step step in a longer redevelopment process. “We are asking you to look at the acquisition of this property and to determine based off of your analysis, do you feel it fits within the comprehensive plan,” a staff presenter said.
During public comment, Tom Swan, who identified himself as a longtime Oshkosh resident, urged caution and raised environmental and cost concerns. “There’s a fair likelihood there could be contamination underneath this property since it was built in the sixties,” Swan said, adding that rehabilitation or demolition and site preparation could cost “tens of millions of dollars” above acquisition costs.
Staff told commissioners the city had completed a Phase I environmental report and had found “multiple possibilities of contamination on the site as we would find on any site located on our riverfront in Oshkosh.” The presenter said a Phase II, more detailed analysis, would be done during due diligence and that the city is aware of funding sources that could help address remediation costs: “We are aware of the possibility. We are also aware of additional funding sources to help us clean that contamination up.”
Commissioners pressed staff on procedural questions and emphasized the narrow role of the plan commission: they were asked to judge whether the acquisition aligns with the comprehensive plan and downtown redevelopment guidance, with final purchase and detailed redevelopment decisions left to the common council and future review stages.
One commissioner said the city should aim to avoid long‑term ownership and to preserve existing small businesses in the building during any interim period. Staff responded that the city intends to keep businesses in place where possible and will update interested parties as subsequent public hearings are scheduled.
After discussion the commission voted to recommend approval of the acquisition to the common council. The motion carried by roll call vote, 7–0.
