Next phase of bluff subdivision expected to be done this fall

Work on the second phase of the Prairie’s Edge development on Port Washington’s south side is expected to be done this fall,  less than a year after the developer began work on the first phase of the project, city officials learned last week.

The Plan Commission on July 15 recommended that developer Black Cap Halcyon receive final plat approval for the second phase of the southeast bluff development from the Common Council.

Lisa Wood, an attorney for Black Cap Halcyon, told the commission that the developer hopes to get the grading for the middle portion of the development done by winter.

The middle, or second, phase of the development includes two commercial buildings, three apartment buildings with a total of 156 units — one of these buildings will have a first-floor health club and retail spaces — a clubhouse and eight lakefront cottages.

The final plat is identical to the preliminary plat approved by the city, said Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development.

With little discussion, the commission recommended the plat be approved.

The Common Council is expected to take up the plat when it meets in August. 

Before work on the second phase can begin, the city will also have to approve an addendum to the master development agreement for that portion of the project.

After years of negotiations and few signs of progress on the subdivision, the first phase of the project on the north end of the site began this spring.

That phase includes a 36-unit assisted living and memory care facility and 14 single-family lakeside cottages. According to the Prairie’s Edge website, four of the single-family lots have been sold and seven are under contract.

Prairie’s Edge has been proposed as  the city’s largest subdivision, which is expected to add 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.