APPLETON (NBC 26) — The Appleton Transit Center will be undergoing a massive, multi-million dollar remodel in the next couple of years.
- Appleton has $26.8 million to spend on the new center from ARPA funds and a federal RAISE grant.
- Final design and permitting will begin in May of 2025, and construction will start in 2026.
- The new center will have affordable housing, covered bus bays, increased security and solar power.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, edited for web.)
A press event was held on Tuesday, Aug. 6 outside of the Appleton Transit Center.
White House director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Tom Perez, Mayor of Appleton Jake Woodford, State Representative Lee Snodgrass, Fox Valley Literacy executive director Brian Leone Tracy, and general manager of Valley Transit Ronald C. McDonald spoke at the event.
"I just want to talk a little bit about how important this project is," said McDonald.
The new Appleton Transit Center will have affordable housing units, solar power energy, increased security, covered bus bays and EV charging stations, according to McDonald.
The details on the affordable housing units are yet to be determined, according to Mayor Woodford.
“We’ll put out a request for proposals for a developer partner to do the housing and affordable housing portion above," he said.
The project is funded through a $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant, and another $1.8 million in ARPA funds– allocated by the City of Appleton.
McDonald said the project will break ground in 2026 and finish in 2028.
"I don't expect service to be interrupted, we might be in a slightly different location temporarily, but we'll continue to provide the services that we do to our community," he said.
Perez said Appleton was chosen for the RAISE grant because of its comprehensive transit plan.
"One of the things we look for is partnership, vision, inclusion, that equity lens," he said. "This embodies the new Appleton and the new Fox Cities surrounding areas."
Fred Petit relies wholly on Valley Transit for his transportation. He says he's excited about the covered bays during poor weather, but he's still concerned about bus schedules.
"It gets you from point A to point B, I just wish the buses would run longer," he said. "We need to focus on getting the buses back to where they were, getting more drivers and having the buses go from 5, 6 o clock in the morning to at least 9 o clock at night."
Currently, buses stop running after 6:15 pm during the week and 1:15 pm on Saturday.
Valley Transit says they'll be reviewing the bus schedule next year as part of the Appleton Transit Development Plan.
