Downtown Port a construction zone

Downtown Port Washington is awash in construction as crews begin to erect the walls of the Pier Street Landing apartment building and preliminary work starts on the Seven Hills Collection townhouses at the site of the city’s former police and fire stations.

Nick Suddendorf of Fine Line Carpentry, which is developing the 20-unit townhouse development with partners Paul Schueller and Peter Herrmann, said he is “optimistically” hoping to begin tearing down the former police station late this month.

The fire station, he said, has some asbestos in the floor tiles that must be remediated, something he hopes will be completed by the end of November.

Once that’s done, the fire station can be razed, he said.

But before that begins, Suddendorf said, We Energies must disconnect the gas and electric lines to the two stations. He doesn’t have a date when that will start, but said the utility has been doing some prep work.

Much of the traffic at the buildings so far is due to people picking up items they purchased during an auction held by the city before he purchased the building at the end of September, Suddendorf said.

The items purchased include everything from the elevator in the police station to the electrical panels in the buildings, he said.

“They were all bought by people who want to reuse them,” he said.

Even structural items such as the steel roof trusses will be reclaimed, Suddendorf said, while concrete from the buildings will be ground and reused as stone and gravel.

“Where we can, we’ll reuse it,” he said.

Suddendorf said he has until the end of February or early March to tear down the buildings, adding he anticipates construction to begin in early spring.

The first of the buildings to be constructed will be at the southeast corner of Wisconsin and Washington streets, where the fire department memorial had been located, Suddendorf said.

Ideally, he added, construction will continue to the north, then wrap around the site in a counter-clockwise direction, but that will depend on sales.

So far, he noted, there’s been significant interest in the development. About three of the units have been spoken for and other buyers have expressed interest in units.

“I’ve been pleased with the initial response, especially at this time of year when people aren’t usually looking to buy,” Suddendorf said.

The units range from $895,000 to $995,000, he said, adding he expects the first units to be completed by the end of 2027 and the entire development to be completed in two to three years.

“I think it’s going to fit really nicely on that block and be a nice addition to downtown,” Suddendorf said, adding that one of the biggest changes people may notice is the fact that the power lines will be buried.

“I think people will be surprised at what a difference that makes,” he said.

As work ramps up on the Seven Hills Collection, it is continuing on Pier Street Landing, where the structure itself is beginning to rise from the former parking lot between Pier and Washington streets east of Franklin Street.

The work has necessitated the closure of Washington Street from Wisconsin to Franklin streets through the end of the day on Friday, Nov. 13, with access to Associated Bank and the city’s parking lot maintained.

Work is continuing on the interior footings and foundation walls as well as the elevator pit foundation, according to the project website, and completed areas of the foundation are being prepared for structure precast construction work.

Drain tiles are being installed and work on the underground utility installation is taking place.

The four-story building, which is expected to be completed in May, will have 51 apartments, two commercial spots and underground parking.

Owner Haley Dobre recently appealed a $74,000 transportation facilities impact fee assessment by the city, which the Common Council denied last week.

Dobre based her appeal on the fact that the development was not specifically cited in the study used to determine the impact fee, it’s located downtown and relies on existing infrastructure, according to a report by the city.

But officials noted that the study used to determine the impact fee was not intended to provide an inventory of every developments that could occur.

While the development will use existing streets, funding of roads isn’t the purpose of the impact fee, according to the city. It is intended to pay for municipal facilities that support snow removal, street maintenance, street sweeping and other public works operations.