Developer says bluff subdivision ready to roll

The Port Washington Common Council last week approved an addendum to the master development agreement for the Prairie’s Edge subdivision, paving the way for construction on the northern phase of the lake bluff development to begin.

“We’re ready to proceed with the development,” Lisa Wood, attorney for developer Black Cap Halcyon, told aldermen, noting that grading for the project is underway.

Wood said that Black Cap has virtually all the approvals it needs for the first phase of the development.

However, the council still must approve the final plat for the subdivision, something Wood said she hopes will be handled at its Tuesday, June 1, meeting.

Black Cap Halcyon needs to provide the city with an $814,104 letter of credit to cover the estimated cost of completing the public improvements for the first phase of the development, which Wood said has been approved and will be provided to the city this week.

All the lots in the first phase are under contract, Wood said, and reservations are being taken for the other two phases of the development.

“There’s definitely a lot of interest in this project,” she said.

The addendum approved Tuesday substantially confirms everything in the previous version of the developer’s agreement, City Attorney Eric Eberhardt said.

It outlines the fact that the promissory note calls for the developer to pay the city $2,031,377 in three installments for the 35-acre parcel. The interest rate is 2.08%.

That includes $1 million when building permits and approvals for the first phase are issued, less the monthly payments Black Cap Halcyon has made on the property, Eberhardt said. 

As of April 26, he noted, the developer had paid $278,300 in those $8,344 monthly payments. 

“This is a meaningful step,” Eberhardt told aldermen.

The agreement also allows Black Cap Halcyon to continue the central and southern phases of Prairie’s Edge in whatever order it pleases, as long as an addendum to the developer’s agreement is approved by the city for each phase, he said.

Ald. John Sigwart asked how Black Cap Halcyon plans to proceed, noting that most of the single-family homes are on the southern end of the development.

The central phase is expected to come next, Wood said, noting that makes the most sense since infrastructure is being extended from the north to the south.

“There are plans in the works for the central phase,” she said, adding they are expected to come before the Plan Commission in June. “We will be looking to move each phase forward as soon as possible.”

Sigwart questioned whether the developer planned to stick to the original design concept of the houses and buildings in the subdivision.

“I personally feel we’re losing control of the single-family buildings,” he said. “Are we confident we’re going to have a continuous good looking development?”

Eberhardt noted that the developer’s agreement gives Black Cap Halcyon the right to revise the concept with the approval of the Plan Commission.

But Wood told the council there is “no intent” to change the Prairie style of the homes, noting that the original designs are showcased on the Prairie’s Edge website.

“It’s important to him,” she said, referring to Tony Polston, principal of Black Cap Halcyon. She noted that the developer had turned away one potential property owner whose builder didn’t share the developer’s vision, adding, “We want to make sure the integrity of the development is retained.”

Prairie’s Edge is poised to become the city’s largest subdivision, adding almost $60 million to the city’s tax base with 34 single-family houses, 16 pocket neighborhood single-family homes, 20 townhouses and 156 apartments, as well as 30,000 square feet of commercial space.

The first phase of the project will include 14 single-family lakefront houses and a 36-unit assisted living and memory care facility.