The City of Appleton Community Development Committee voted 4-0 on Oct. 22 to approve the third amendment to the development agreement with Merge LLC for phase 2 of a mixed-use project on the southeast corner of West Washington Street and North Appleton Street, in Tax Increment Financing District No. 11.

A city representative told the committee the amendment sets a new closing deadline of April 30, 2026, and revises the purchase terms to reflect a $40,000 credit related to a no-build easement. "There was a $40,000 credit for a no build easement. It was 590,000. It is now 550,000," the presenter said.

The amendment also adds and clarifies site restrictions after lessons learned from phase 1: it prohibits balconies that encroach into the public right of way, restricts use of residential units as tourist rooming houses, and requires that the local Houdini historic marker be incorporated into the site plan and placed in a publicly viewed location on the property. The presenter said permitting and groundbreaking are expected by fall after the April closing.

Committee members asked about the certainty of the new closing date after prior extensions; the presenter said the developer completed a related sale that provides capital to close and that staff had recently spoken with the project architect. Alder Vered Meltzer and other committee members expressed appreciation for language preventing balconies in the right of way and noted the city is considering incentives that allow developers to begin receiving TIF revenues in the year they reach defined assessed value rather than the following year.

The committee approved the amendment by voice vote, recorded as 4-0. Attorney Glenn confirmed no additional steps were required at the meeting for the next item.

The amendment updates the development agreement for phase 2 to reflect negotiated credits, new closing terms and clarified site standards intended to protect public space and historic features; final construction and revenue timing will depend on closing and permitting milestones.