The current Valley Transit Center in Appleton. April 8, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Nearly a year after being awarded a $25 million federal grant from the Department of Transportation, the project to expand the Valley Transit Center in Appleton is in a holding pattern.
“As I understand it, the administration has asked that all grants, discretionary grants, to be reviewed,” said Valley Transit General Manager Ron McDonald. “My understanding is that the grant is in the secretary’s office, along with all the other discretionary grants, under review.”
McDonald said the grant was set to fund nearly all of the $26.8 million bus station in the new development, and it’s crucial to the project.
“Without the grant? No, the grant needs to happen,” he explained. “That’s how the Transit Center is going to be paid for.”
But work on the entire building is not dependent on the grant. Planning is continuing on the apartment complex above the Transit Center, which is funded by the private sector.
There’s a lot of work being done in the background. It takes a lot of effort to get a project like this going, and the private developers are working feverishly in the background, and we’re meeting with them weekly. We continue on the planning process.
McDonald said the old Valley Transit Center is outdated and needs upgrades to better serve the community. Improvements include replacing the plumbing and HVAC system.
“If we didn’t have this opportunity, then there would be no private developer that could build on top of us, because the foundation wouldn’t support it,” he said.
McDonald is confident it won’t be long until work is back on track.
“The grant’s already been awarded. It’s just a matter of executing and making sure that there’s nothing in there that the new administration has a concern with,” he said.
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