February 19, 2026

Drive Through Becomes Gathering Space

In the heart of Neenah, WI, an unused bank drive through is being converted into a new public space called, Alta Alley.

The project will cost a total of $66,000, and feature children’s play areas, seating, and art. The transformation is funded in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Alta Resources owns the former bank property and has authorized using the drive-through for the benefit of the public. The nonprofit, Future Neenah, will lead the design of the area and will organize activities and events. And the city will administer the grant and assist with planning and design.

Future Neenah Assistant Executive Director Sara Hanneman says it’s all in the name of bringing a new life to the downtown area. "To create a small place of Zen in the center of our downtown. So if you work downtown, that might include grabbing your lunch from one of the downtown restaurants and coming to eat it here."

Creative approaches to adding public space are covered regularly in the pages of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter.

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Recommended Reading

Cities and Nature: A Handbook for Renewal

Cities and towns across the United States are working to restore nature and increase green space as a means to improve quality of life, enhance economic conditions, and combat climate change.

In Cities and Nature, editor Roger Kemp has collected some of the best information available on what he has termed the "back-to-nature" movement in downtown revitalization.

The articles and case studies illustrate the work of communities across the country in four major areas: creating, protecting, preserving, and restoring the natural environment. The articles and case studies include:

• The economic benefits of parks and open space
• Lessons in creating urban parks on existing public facilities
• Hartford, CT, revives its downtown riverfront
• Lafayette, IN, uses public plazas to revive main streets
• Petaluma, CA, reorients its downtown around a river
• San Francisco, CA, transforms an industrial site into open space and trails
• Silver Spring, MD, turns old railroad corridors into public trails
• West Des Moines, IA, turns a floodplain into a regional park and open space.

The case studies offer a wide range of ideas and inspiration while sharing a commitment to an urban environment enhanced by nature.

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Cities and Nature is just one of the many books on Downtown Economic Development available from the Downtown Development Center.