Civil and Municipal - Mar 2023

20 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 that was a hundred years ago. Now, we’re at this point where that’s just not the best use of our space, and we want to try to redevelop that with mixed-use projects like the future Mill on Main.” Oshkosh has already moved much of its industrial base to the south- and northwestern parts of the city and is now focusing on backland and infill development to support neighborhood needs and add housing opportunities. “We have about 800 different housing units in development right now within our city, which is pretty incredible,” Rathermel reports. “We feel like that’s a really good move forward to try to combat the housing crisis that a lot of people face. We’re also seeing this great mix of existing developers who’ve been working in the Oshkosh area for a long time taking on projects, and new developers coming in from other markets, like Milwaukee and Madison.” The city also hosts a large collegiate population, with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh offering higher education degree programs to nearly 14,000 students each year. The school recently received a $548,000 grant from Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin to enhance its water-related academic program, expanding training opportunities to meet the needs of Wisconsin’s workforce and address some of the state’s biggest water challenges. “We do have this really interesting mix in our population of college students, professionals, and blue-collar workers,” says Rathermel. “And then we’ve seen this incredible inrush of people who’ve come back to retire in Oshkosh because this is where their families have relocated for work. It’s created this wonderful spread of kind of everybody and now we have this really vibrant community that includes all the different demographics. It’s made for a really safe place to live, very family- centric, and we do owe a lot of the fantastic amenities that we have, as compared to a bigger city, to the students and faculty at UW Oshkosh.” On the commercial side, due to the labor force challenges linking back to the pandemic, Oshkosh has implemented a targeted industry approach to business recruiting, focusing on healthcare, additive manufacturing, www. greenf i re . com From the Fox River to the Wisconsin River, From new construction to renovations, From The Brio to The Zuelke Building, Greenfire is Your Construction Manager.