Four years after a fire that vacated its top floor, University Plaza still remains largely vacant.
"We get inquiries on the space every week, so there's interest in it," said Ryon Savasta of Sara Investment Real Estate LLC, which owns the property.
On Aug. 13, 2004, a fire at a sandwich shop called Hungri's caused massive damage to the second floor and roof of the two-story building. The restaurant never returned to the location near the intersection of High Avenue and Wisconsin Street.
The Middleton-based company spent $1.5 million remodeling the property in 2006, but has still been unable to fill the top floor. The French Quarter and Nikos Gyros occupy the bottom level. Savasta said that many prospective tenants, especially national chains, seem hesitant to count on students for a majority of their business because many of them are not in the area the entire year.
"I think that anyone who has gone to school in a college town realizes that there's huge foot traffic there, but the national (chains) see students as more of a transient population," he said. "It's been harder for them to see the benefits of being close to campus."
UW-Oshkosh senior Brad Williams said the building is in a good location and that several types of businesses could be successful there. "There should be more adult hangouts in the campus bar area," he said. "It would be kind of unique to have that kind of bar, like more of a downtown bar. You don't see many older people at the college bars, so it's kind of a weird change in demographics."
Williams said that those seeking a more relaxed bar experience may have trouble finding it with the current lineup of campus bars.
"It's all very predictable what you're going to find at the college bars," he said. "It's the same people over and over with the same level of drunkenness no matter what night of the week."
However, student Dan VanDenEng said that there are enough bars already in Oshkosh and that a strip club would probably draw in the college crowd. "It would also boost employment for certain students," he said.
Savasta said there has been an array of different businesses looking to move in, including restaurants, a hair salon, two gyms, a tanning salon and an office looking to relocate from Main Street. He also said that the "safest" place for businesses to open is near a major highway, like Highway 41, or else on Main Street where there are a lot of vintage storefronts.
"We're kind of in between those two markets," he said.
The sinking economy may also be a factor.
"Sometimes the business plans don't really pan out when they start crunching the numbers," he said. "There's been interest, but it has just been slow. With the economy slowing down like this, people are looking for more of a sure bet."
According to VanDenEng, he would like to see another place in Oshkosh to see live music or a place where students could go to get a lot of food for a small cost.
"They should have some place with a buffet," he said. "We need something cheap for college students."
Savasta said that retail outlets tend to have more doubts about the location than restaurants.
"There's a lot of food in that area, so obviously that's a big draw," he said. "In terms of a retailer, what I've been told is that they're looking for something that's a little more stable in terms of consistent population."
Williams said that in light of recent events, perhaps a shrine honoring Brett Favre would be appropriate.
"I think that we have college students who appreciate the man and grew up watching him, and they would like a place to go, kind of like visiting a tombstone," he said. "It'd be a place where Packers' fans join together and take a look at one of the greatest legends in football."
Update: Since this story appeared in the Advance-Titan in March 2008, Polito's Pizza has moved in to the top floor of University Plaza.
