Duke Behnke|Appleton Post-Crescent
NEENAH - The city wouldpay up to $950,000 to a local developer to support the renovation of the former Neenah Shopko store into multitenant retail space under a proposal headed to the Common Council.
Efforts to fill the building with a single tenant wereunsuccessful.
"You can't really always find a 95,000-square-foot tenant to fill a 95,000-square-foot space, but we're going to be bringing a couple of new tenants to the market," Neenah retail developerPhil Langohr told The Post-Crescent.
No tenants have been announced.
Shopko went bankrupt in 2019 and closed all of its stores, including the Neenah store at 699 S. Green Bay Road.
In the two years that followed, there was little interest in reoccupying the store or redeveloping the eight-acre site.Chris Haese, Neenah's director of community development and assessment, said his office fielded inquiries for the reuse of the building as a church and as a storage facility.
A church would have been tax-exempt and, at that size, could have caused traffic jams after worship services.Storage space wasn't deemed the highest and best use for one of Neenah's primecommercial sites.
"Fortunately, these uses did not materialize," Haese said in a memorandum to the Finance Committee.
Phil and Larry Langohr,operating as Spring Creek Center II, purchased the property for $1.6 million in 2021, after it didn't sell at auction. They now plan to prepare the site for four to seven retailers.
"Given the evolution of the retail market away from large-box development, it is apparent the most feasible outcome for the site is to repurpose the building to a multitenant configuration," Haese said.
In addition, the Langohrs woulddevelop at least one out-loton the site along Green Bay Road. The improvements are expected to raise the taxable value of the property to $7.7 million, an increase of $5 million.
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Haese said the depth of the Shopko building is excessive and not conducive to complete retail use. He estimated the front 70,000 to 80,000 square feet could be used as retail space. The balance wouldeither remain vacant or be used for something other than retail.
The Shopko development dates to 1989. The renovation of the building would require the removal of a mezzanine and the flooring;improvements to the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; modifications to the facade; and the reconstruction of the parking lot with additional landscaping.
To bring the project to fruition, the city and the Langohrs negotiated an agreement in which the city would pay them up to $950,000 over 12 years though a tax incremental financing district.
The payments from the city would be equal to 80% of the additional tax revenue collected on the property beginning in 2024. The payments would continue until 2035 or until $950,000 has been paid, whichever comes first.
The Common Council will consider the development agreement Wednesday.
"We're excited to see something happen there," Haese said.
The Langohrs are experienced developers. They operate AIG Properties Ltd. and own the Neenah Festival Foods property and the adjacent retail center on South Green Bay Road. They also were behind theNeenah Walmart and Neenah Kohl's developments.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com.Follow him on Twitter at@DukeBehnke.
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