OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Oshkosh Corporation gave VIPs the very first glimpse of plans for its new headquarters Monday night.
The 180,000 square-foot facility will be on what’s now the Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course.
Corporation president and CEO Wilson Jones tells FOX 11 the plans include employees’ opinions.
“Our focus in on engaging, developing and connecting. That’s what our engagement survey came back that our team wanted.”
The 180,000 square-foot headquarters is by the water, on about 30 acres of what is currently the city-owned Lakeshore Golf Course.
Jones say the architecture will feature stone, glass and open concept plans to drive collaboration.
“We want people to center in the heart of the building, the first floor, the atrium and then into our collaborative dining area.”
“This is what you see in major metropolitan areas as corporate headquarters. We’re gonna have to have everyone set the bar higher now in Oshkosh when they design something, build something.” added Oshkosh Mayor Steve Cummings.
Jones acknowledged some citizens did not want Oshkosh Corporation taking away the golf course. However, he said it was the only option the city presented.
“We hate that there was some controversy, again, that was really out of our hands.”
As a gesture of goodwill Oshkosh Corporation donated $600,000 to the city.
That will pay to complete a six mile trail connecting the new headquarters and the remaining 70 acres of the current golf course to another city park.
“We know some people in the community are upset and we wanna do everything we can to show them that we wanna be a good community partner,” Jones explained.
At this point the budget for the facility is not set in stone.
“There was a discussion of a $15 to 20 million building. This will be 180,000 square feet. It’s gonna be significantly more than that.” said Jones.
Jones says the headquarters will bring more than 400 employees that are currently spread out at 40 different facilities together.
“We wouldn’t build a building for 650 if we weren’t planning to use that capacity.”
The plan is to break ground in May and complete construction by fall 2019.
Oshkosh Corporation created a smartphone app called “Oshkosh HQ.”
You can download it to learn more about the project, and keep track of the development.
There are still no solid plans for the remaining 70 acres of the golf course.
The city plans to turn it into a park, but the amenities within are still undecided.
