Neenah buying properties to make parking lots near Gateway Office Buidling – WBAY

NEENAH, Wis. (WBAY-TV) Neenah is clearing the way for parking as the Gateway Office Building nears its opening.

The city owns, bought or is buying 15 properties that encompasses homes and businesses near Gateway to make them parking surfaces.

The properties and the under-construction gateway office building are all on the west side of downtown Neenah.

The four story Gateway Office Building is almost complete.

The goal is for it to be complete by June 1st.

Then 275-300 Plexus employees will settle in as the engineering firm is moving its design center into the building.

"It's going to work out well and it's going to bring a lot of people downtown, on the flip side, it puts pressures on the city to provide more parking," said Neenah Mayor Dean Kaufert.

That's why the city of Neenah asked business and home owners around the building if they wanted to sell.

So far, the city has bought around 12 properties that will become parking lots.

It's budgeted $900,000 to acquire property around the Gateway Building.

The owner of Cranked Bike Studio across the street from Gateway, Stephen Pratt, says the building he rents hasn't been sold but he thinks the new development will help business in the area.

"I think it's going to bring more dollars to the downtown between lunches dinners and the parking is progress, I understand, as much as I like things old," said Pratt

Neenah believes the parking lots can lead to more development in the future.

"This is the entrance to our downtown, as you come over the Main Street overpass this is the first thing you see this site so we really see this at some point in the future as future redevelopment for office, commercial, residential, as really that welcome to downtown Neenah," said Brad Schmidt, Neenah Community Development Deputy Director.

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Neenah buying properties to make parking lots near Gateway Office Buidling - WBAY