Start of Newport Shores work ‘imminent’

Construction of the proposed Newport Shores development, which will include a mix of uses — including 29 condominiums, office space, a store, restaurant and rooftop pub — on Port Washington’s lakefront is “imminent,” Tom Meaux, president of Ansay Development, said Tuesday.

Meaux said the firm is working out the last details needed before a groundbreaking can be scheduled, but said work is expected to begin this fall.

“We have a lot of balls in the air moving rather quickly right now,”  Ian McCain, Ansay’s design/construction manager, said Tuesday. Half of the 29 condominium units in the building have been reserved, he said, including the two largest, almost $1 million units.

Meaux told aldermen that the firm has “15 families willing to commit many, many thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars to become new residents of the City of Port. We have millions of dollars in contractors lined up excited about this opportunity.”

Signs that the project is moving forward have been apparent recently. Newport Shores restaurant, which will be razed for the project, closed and owner John Weinrich is selling his equipment and supplies. 

Ansay has also been seeking a number of approvals from the city for the project recently. On Tuesday, the Common Council approved a condominium plat for the building and tabled action on a proposed land swap needed before plans move forward.

The council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, to act on the land swap, in which the city will be given ownership of a plot of land east of the restaurant, giving it riparian rights there, while Ansay will be given ownership of two city-owned parcels east of Pier Street needed for the project.

City Attorney Eric Eberhardt asked that the matter be tabled despite the fact the land swap was detailed in the developer’s agreement between the city and Ansay, saying the final language of the deed and potential restrictions had not been worked out.

An amendment to the agreement that will allow Ansay to make a $45,000 contribution to the city’s park improvement fund in lieu of replacing the Kiwanis pavilion will also be before the council Tuesday, Eberhardt said.

There are still other measures needed to be approved by the city in the coming weeks before the project moves ahead, including the vacation of the east end of Jackson Street, he said.

“They (Ansay) are really jumping at the bit to get the project going,” Eberhardt said.

Last week, the Harbor Commission agreed to a new location for the fish cleaning station, which will be moved as part of the Newport Shores project.

The commission, which this summer agreed to relocate the fish cleaning station to a spot in the marina parking lot near pier two, on Friday revised that decision, choosing to locate the facility in what is now handicapped parking spots on the east side of the north slip marina. The handicapped parking stalls will be moved to a nearby location to make room for the fish cleaning station, the commission agreed.

Meaux and McCain said Tuesday they will accommodate that change.

The Newport Shores project, unveiled in 2018, would replace the current restaurant on Port Washington’s waterfront with a modern building with an L-shaped building that features a glassy design.

The first floor will contain a 3,500-square-foot restaurant with a wrap-around deck, three tenant spaces and parking for residents and workers.

The second and third floors will have 11 condominiums each, while the fourth floor will have seven residential units as well as a rooftop pub with a deck.