The transformation of Thrivent’s 580-acre campus into a commercial and residential development called Wilden Portfolio Park will begin in earnest by September after Appleton agreed to provide millions of dollars of public support.
The Common Council approved a development agreement on July 15 that specifies Appleton will provide $11 million to North Meadows Investment Ltd., a subsidiary of Thrivent, as a reimbursement for the construction of public infrastructure within Wilden.
Appleton also will pay $14 million in principal, plus 6% interest, to North Meadows as an incentive to proceed with the first phase of development, which is estimated to cost $63 million. The incentive will total an estimated $25.5 million in gross payments, according to a cash flow projection prepared by Ehlers Inc., a consultant hired by the city.
The council ratified the development agreement by a 9-3 vote.
“Just knowing what that development is going to bring for various housing types and what it can bring to this community, I’m fully supportive of this,” council member Alex Schultz said.
According to the plan, the city’s financial commitments will be recovered through the creation of a 20-year tax incremental financing district, which the council backed by a 9-3 vote.
In related actions, the council also:
Is financial support for Wilden necessary and appropriate?
Ahead of the council’s votes, four Appleton residents spoke against the development agreement and the creation of a TIF district for Wilden.
John VanDerKolk characterized Appleton’s support as corporate welfare. He said TIF districts were established to stimulate private investment in blighted areas, not greenfields.
“Why are we using public money and tax incentives to help a $10 billion private corporation make more money?” VanDerKolk asked. “That is just going to result in a greater tax impact to the citizens of Appleton.”
“The big winner here is Thrivent, possibly the city,” Deb Blank said, “but the loser is the Appleton taxpayer.”
Council members Sheri Hartzheim, Chris Croatt and Nate Wolff voted against the development agreement and the creation of the TIF district.
“It is my firm belief that housing can and will occur on this property, and Thrivent, a philanthropic nonprofit organization, can absolutely commit to all of the those things without TID assistance,” Hartzheim said.
A TIF district is a public funding tool that allows a municipality to capture gross property tax revenues from new development within a defined area to pay for costs incurred or promised to bring about that development. The tax revenues from the increment are diverted from the other taxing entities – school district, county and technical college – for as long as the district is in effect.
Appleton typically doesn’t create a TIF district to underwrite residential development, but Community Development Director Kara Homan said that in this case, public assistance is needed to spur the development of high-density multifamily housing and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects at Wilden. The market isn’t delivering those types of housing on its own, she said.
The creation of the Wilden TIF district still needs approval by the Joint Review Board, which has representatives from the city, Appleton Area School District, Outagamie County and Fox Valley Technical College. The board will meet on July 30.
Mayor Jake Woodford said the $11 million for infrastructure will be borrowed by the city. He said the repayment of the debt, as with the incentive payments, won’t be borne by general taxpayers in Appleton but rather by the tax increment created by the development.
The development agreement requires that the city’s debt service be funded first, before any other obligations, and that North Meadows make shortfall payments to the city if the tax increment is insufficient to pay the debt service.
What does the Wilden development mean for Appleton?
Wilden lies north of Interstate 41, east of Meade, south of Edgewood Drive and west of Ballard. Plans show commercial development, including a grocery store and a hotel, near I-41 and Ballard. There will be more than 2,000 new housing units on the balance of the property.
The first project announced for Wilden is the construction of a four-story, 155,000-square-foot operations center for Thrivent, a Fortune 500 fraternal organization. It will replace Thrivent’s operations center at 4321 N. Ballard Road.
Appleton City Traffic Engineer Eric Lom previously described Wilden as “perhaps the biggest development in the history of the city.”
Ehlers estimated the development of Wilden will yield $607 million in additional property value when fully built out. The amount consists of $211 million in the first phase and $396 million in the second phase.
An economic feasibility study determined that if only the first phase proceeds, it will generate $57 million in tax increment, and the city will recover its investment within 20 years. That’s the maximum life of a TIF district.
If both phases of development proceed as planned, they would generate $117 million in tax increment, and the city would recover its investment within 16 years.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @DukeBehnke.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton commits millions of dollars to support Thrivent redevelopment
Reporting by Duke Behnke, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
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By Duke Behnke, Appleton Post-Crescent | USA TODAY Network
