CDA’s vision of downtown coming into focus
Development body backs offer of park
land to spur village’s revitalization plan



THIS ‘BIRD’S EYE’ REPRESENTATION of what a redevelopment project
could look like on the north end of Saukville’s Peninsula Park was
prepared by the consulting firm Vandewalle & Associates.

By MARK JAEGER
Ozaukee Press staff
Posted 7-23-08

The Village of Saukville’s Community Development Authority envisions the north end of Peninsula Park becoming the cornerstone of downtown redevelopment.

The CDA unanimously recommended last week that the Village Board turn over a .89-acre section of the riverfront park to the authority.

If the request is approved by trustees, the land would be offered at no cost to potential developers to spur revitalization.

The consulting firm Vandewalle & Associates prepared a rendering of what that redevelopment might look like, incorporating standards set forth in a proposed Traditional Neighborhood Development overlay ordinance.

An earlier rendering of possible redevelopment prepared by Vandewalle showed a towering building that blended condominium and retail uses. The new building would extend into the park in an area that is now a baseball diamond.

That concept drew quick criticism from village officials, including Village President Barb Dickmann.

“The building they proposed was five stories — that’s lunacy,” Dickmann said.

The revised concept plan shows a gabled building roughly the height of the nearby Sports Corner building on East Green Bay Avenue. As with the previous rendering, the illustration shows a mix of high-end residential and retail uses in two buildings south of Clay Street.

“Initially the drawing was done without the benefit of the overlay zoning document, so its mass and scale were not sufficiently in character with the balance of downtown architecture,” said Community Development Director Brian Biernat.

“The concept now reflects a possible optimal development based on elements of the zoning overlay document. I feel it blends in very, very well.”

Dickmann said she was much happier with the revised rendering, stressing the important role the project will play in redevelopment efforts.

“They’ll need to make it look good because this is going to be a premiere location in the village,” she said.

Grade-level parking will be provided in garages connected to the residential building. That approach would shield vehicles from public view, while avoiding the risk of a flooded underground parking lot.

“Underground parking is not likely an option anywhere in the immediate downtown area, since when development breaks the plane of the floodplain elevation it is considered subject to floodplain zoning provisions. We want to avoid this if at all possible,” Biernat said.

The rendering will be shared with potential developers in a solicitation called a request for qualifications (or RFQ). The process will gauge the interest investors have in creating a development in the village’s downtown.

“As we work the next 30 days to refine the RFQ, we will have a clearer idea of what to expect in terms of design considerations from the various developers who choose to respond. This event will be the market response to all of the planning work we’ve undertaken for the project so I’m very excited to be moving quickly now in this direction,” Biernat said.

After eight months of planning, momentum for redevelopment seems to be increasing, CDA member Gene Fransee said.

“There is interest. I’ve been contacted a lot by people, asking, ‘When are you going to get going on this?’ There are people in the community we need to contact. They will want to be involved,” Fransee said.

Redevelopment interest may be piqued by the standards spelled out in the traditional neighborhood development overlay zoning district ordinance, which was also unanimously backed the authority last week.

That 31-page ordinance will be the subject of a public hearing before the Plan Commission. It designates permitted land uses in the revitalized downtown, along with zoning standards and design requirements.

Before endorsing the ordinance, the CDA did some minor tweaking — such as eliminating the deep store entryways which were characterized as “tunnel-like” by authority members.