COMMUNITY REVIVAL

Oshkosh welcomes new era for Marion Road

By Jeanne Wieland

The Concord Place apartment complex is marking a revival of the Marion Road area of Oshkosh. Photo courtesy of Berghammer Construction Corporation

A former industrial site is finding new life as a housing, shopping and dining center for University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh students.

Located on the north side of the Fox River in the Marion Road area of Oshkosh, the 35-acre site used to house industrial developments and some dilapidated residences but is now the site of some of the city's freshest apartment and commercial property.

The city of Oshkosh cleaned up the former brownfields site and prepared it for sale by offering the land at extremely reasonable prices. That caught the interest of developers.

The Concord Place apartments, developed by Alexander & Bishop, Oshkosh, and Concord Development, Mequon, opened in late summer 2003, just blocks from the UW-Oshkosh campus. Ed Bowen of Alexander & Bishop said the firm jumped at the chance to provide new, quality housing for students and university
professionals.

"The city was making an investment in the area, and we saw an opportunity to do something there," Bowen said.

Berghammer Construction Corporation, Butler, built the 57-unit, three-story apartment complex. In designing the apartments, Bowen said the developers were seeking something out of the ordinary.

"We wanted architecture that was a step above," he said. "There is a demand for high-quality construction. We put in 9-foot ceilings and underground parking — things people wanted and didn't have."

Apartments range in size from 695 square feet to 1,045 square feet with rents from about $600 to $800. Even with a higher rental rate than most area apartments, Bowen said Concord Place immediately got a good response from the university community and others.

The Marion Road area also has attracted interest from other residential and commercial developers. In the past few years, D&F Investments, Oshkosh, developed the 44-unit Radford Village housing complex primarily for students, and it developed Radford Square, a 20,000-square-foot commercial development. Radford Square features several restaurants, a credit union, a women's fitness franchise and a bagel shop.

Dennis Schwab of D&F Investments and Coldwell Banker Schwab Realty Ltd. said the Marion Road area was the perfect site for these projects.

"It's a high-traffic area, close to downtown and the municipal center," he said.

The apartments are 100 percent filled right now, he said, and already are nearly completely booked for the 2005-06 school year.

Altogether, these projects have made vast improvements in the Marion Road area, said Darryn Burich, Oshkosh's planning director, and more is yet to come.

Bowen said Alexander & Bishop and Concord Development are proud to be part of the rebirth and future of the Marion Road area.

"I would definitely say it is an exciting time for the area," he said.

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