Commission OKs permit for 88-unit condo project

By COREY SCHMIDT

Ozaukee Press staff

The Village of Grafton Plan Commission approved a conditional use permit for a new condominium development that will add 88 homes to the community.

The condominiums at the intersection of Highway 60 and Keup Road on the village’s northwest side will include 10 duplex and 17 double duplex buildings.

Cornerstone Development is the developer and owner Jon Wahlen said he believes there is a need for their condos in the village.

“I don’t think many people focus on the ranch-style condominiums like we do,” Wahlen said. “That’s why it’s been advantageous for us. I think a lot of builders love to build single-family homes because there are nuances to building condominiums, and  that’s what we like to embrace.”

One of these nuances is establishing a sense of community.

“We thought it would be more of a neighborhood feeling to plan it around the community,” he said.

Cornerstone’s developments in other municipalities, such as Brookfield, attract a variety of residents, Wahlen said, such as widows and young executives.

“In Brookfield, we had a double duplex. All four residents were widows, and suddenly you’ve got friendships and they’re doing things together,” Wahlen said.

“There’s safety, they’re looking out for each other. The whole idea is that there’s a social aspect if you want it. There’s also the safety of people living close by and an association looking out for the whole property. That is pretty comforting.”

Wahlen expects to nurture this sense of community through the clubhouse, which will have a pool alongside pickleball and bocce ball courts. The clubhouse itself will provide residents with a large space to gather.

Cornerstone Development will assist residents in setting up a homeowners association and hand things off once the 66th property is sold. He said unit prices are expected to start around $400,000. Association fees are expected to be around $300 a month, according to Wahlen.

Wahlen anticipates homeowners will be from the Grafton area, not  out of town buyers.

“It’ll be people who want to stay in Grafton,” Wahlen said. “We’re not going to pull a Brookfield buyer per se, because they want to stay close to their family, friends, doctors and churches. It might pull people from Port Washington who want to stay close enough to the church they go to and see friends that they’ve seen for many years.”