NEENAH, Wis. — Catherine Fleischer watched as the once-open area across the street from her store, Elements Unleashed, has been transformed into a skating rink and community gathering area.

The Plaza at Gateway Park is the latest development in an area that was once a brownfield area after a paper mill closed fifteen years ago.

“We’re very thankful to have something as unique as a gathering place and ice rink across the street,” she said while working on a custom fur piece. “We’re hoping that it’s going to bring people from all over to see just exactly what we have to offer here.”

Elements Unleashed is a clothing boutique and furrier that’s been in Neenah for nine years.

Fleischer said the plaza is an asset that adds to a downtown she’s proud to be part of.

 “Not even Neenah itself has fully realized how much of a gem it is downtown,” she said.

Neenah Mayor Dean Kaufert said a lot has changed in the city.

“The change from 15 years ago is monumental," he said. “In the ‘80s and ‘90s we had a downtown that was deteriorating, like most downtowns. They were having difficulty filling vacancies, there was a lot of empty store fronts.”

The plaza, a $7 million development funded by donors as a gift to the city, is a one of a number of ongoing projects that include creating more downtown living, office and park space.

The plaza, Kaufert said, is an attraction that helps highlight what’s in the city’s center.

The goal: “Bringing people down and making the downtown vibrant, making the downtown a place people want to go right here in Neenah.”

Fleischer is among those looking forward to the launch of the plaza and what the city has to offer in the future.

“It’s that constant infusion of energy,” she said. “This place would be a ghost town if we didn’t have that community and that whole sense of self-renewal.”