Introduction

The City of Menasha is requesting proposals from qualified consultants to assist the City in creating a Corridor Plan for the Water Street neighborhood. The Corridor Plan will be a document used to guide, revitalize, and develop future growth within the area. A planned reconstruction of Water Street is scheduled in 2020. The Water Street Corridor is a mix of industrial, commercial, and residential uses. The corridor encompasses fifteen (15) acres of land to the northwest of Menasha's downtown. Residential is currently the primary use in the corridor. With continuous access to the government canal, the corridor has potential to be a vibrant extension of the downtown area and a vital trail linkage between loop the lake and our downtown river walk. The final plan will be a quality development that still maintains public access to waterways. The Water Street Corridor should be district that all people in the community can enjoy.

Context

Menasha is a city of 17,573, located approximately 25 miles north of Oshkosh and 30 miles south of Green Bay. Menasha is centrally located in the Fox Cities and shares borders with the City of Neenah, City of Appleton, Village of Fox Crossing and Village of Harrison. The Fox River flows immediately adjacent to the downtown with the west and southeast borders defined by Little Lake Butte des Morts and Lake Winnebago, respectively. Menasha, coming from the Native American word for island, has been home to an ambitious and industries people for hundreds of years. In 1849 Menasha secured the navigation channel through the city that linked the entire Fox-Wisconsin waterway. Menasha incorporated in 1874 and envisioned itself as the "Industrial City of the North"; with primary focus on the paper industry and use of water power. Commercial development in the central business district as well as industrial growth, continued throughout the early 20^th century. In the 1980's Menasha saw expansion to the east and expanded into Calumet County. With consolidation and changes in transportation requirements for industry, many legacy industries relocated or closed. This opened opportunities for redevelopment in the greater downtown area. In recent years Menasha has rebranded itself as "your place on the water". Menasha has made a number of investments in it's waterways and seen brownfield sites give way to new commercial and residential use. Menasha's downtown has seen a drastic shift in uses and vitality as new developers invest in our historic downtown. While Menasha has changed a lot since its' founding, we still strive as a community to make Menasha a place that people are proud to call home.

Project Area

The planning area for the Water Street Corridor is approximately 15 acres and encompasses three city blocks. The corridor is adjacent to Menasha's downtown and is located right along the Government Canal. The project area is depicted below and is roughly bounded by Tayco Street on the east, the Fox River Locks on the west, the Government Canal on the south, and Kaukauna Street on the north.

The corridor is home to a number of uses. The south eastern portion features a cluster of mixed use historic buildings. The central part of the corridor is a collection of single family residential units. Residential units are a mix of owner occupied and rental homes. The percentage of rental units has been increasing in this corridor for the past few years. At the far north of the corridor are a number of industrial use facilities that have a moderate degree of obsolescence. In addition, the Water Street Corridor serves as an entrance to the City's downtown. All maritime traffic coming to the downtown ,via Little Lake Butte des Morts, travel down the Government Canal and past the Water Street Corridor. The Fox River Locks have been closed to due environmental concerns surrounding the invasive Round Goby. Plans are in motion to put an electronic barrier on the locks that would prevent the Goby from entering the locks and invading Lake Winnebago. The lock site itself is maintained as public greenspace. Located on this site is a portion of the Loop the Lake trail. Loop the Lake Trail along with the Friendship Trail encircles the entire southern half of Little Lake Butte des Morts. The trail attracts thousands of visitors and residents annually. It is our hope that these trails can be extended down Water Street and provide trail access to our downtown.

Across the Government Canal, south of the corridor, are a number of industrial facilities of varying business health. Several planning documents call for a change of use in this area. Menasha's Downtown Vision Plan and Comprehensive Plan show the Water Street corridor as mixed use development with medium density housing. Many of the existing uses in the corridor have a high degree of obsolescence.

There are numerous opportunities for funding projects within the corridor. Portions of the corridor are in an existing TIF district and the entire corridor is in a federally recognized opportunity zone. While many of the details for funding opportunity zones have not been finalized, this funding mechanism will could be a vital part of revitalizing the Water Street Corridor.

Scope of Work

The City of Menasha invites proposals from companies to supply the city with a corridor plan . The plan must be a product that will help guide land use and zoning decisions. A special emphasis shall be placed on how the City of Menasha can capitalize on the Loop the Lake and Friendship Trail System. As well as direct the city on the best use of public space and right of way within the study area. In addition, Water Street is being reconstructed in 2020 and suggestions should be given to how the street should be designed and what amenities shall be included. The proposed scope of work is intended to be a general outline of the type of work expected to be included in the planning process. However, it is not intended to be an all inclusive description of the planning activities. In general, the scope of work should include the following activities:

• Existing conditions analysis
• Street right of way suggestions/alignment
• Shore wall suggestions
• Proposed trails
• Land-use plan and implementation strategy
• Conceptual designs
• Recreation suggestions
• Possible grant dollars available
• Facilitating public engagement

Project Timeline

The City may identify one or more companies to interview if, in the City's sole discretion, it is determined that interviews are necessary. The anticipated schedule for the process, as well as the Project, is as follows:

RFP issuance date: November 13th, 2018

Proposal submission date: November 28th, 2018

Interviews dates, if any: Week of December 3th, 2018

Public Engagement (will include one public meeting): Throughout February 2019

Final Corridor Plan Submitted: March 22nd, 2019

Outlined Selection Criteria

The City of Menasha reserves the right to select Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Experience and availability of key personnel
• Past performance on similar project
• Demonstrated understanding of the project
• Familiarity of the Fox Valley region
• Experience and creativity in conducting public outreach
• Proposed project approach, including proposed schedule and budget
• Quality and completeness of proposal

For any questions regarding the project or details regarding the process please contact us at 920-967-3650

For more information click the following link: http://www.cityofmenasha-wi.gov/news_detail_T6_R35.php