Commission, neighbors pan apartment plan

A proposal to build 119 upscale apartments in seven two-story buildings on the eight acres south of the Harbor Campus building on Port Washington’s north side was unanimously rejected by the Plan Commission last week.

Commission members said the concept plan submitted by Terrace Realty was too dense, would generate too much traffic and generally does not fit the single-family neighborhood that surrounds the senior living campus.

Noting that a previous plan for the land called for a taller building while this plan calls for two-story structures, commission member Mike Ehrlich said it doesn’t negate the fact there are seven buildings in the proposal.

“That’s a lot of density in a neighborhood that has been centered around walkability, the small neighborhood feel,” he said.

“This is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city. It just feels like we’re plopping as many (units) as we can fit on this site. I don’t think this development was thought out enough to make it fit with the neighborhood.”

Ald. Paul Neumyer, a member of the commission, agreed, saying, “It’s not conducive to that type of neighborhood.”

“It’s three or four times more dense than the rest of the neighborhood,” City Engineer Roger Strohm, a member of the commission, said, “I just don’t feel going forward with this (is right).”

Commission member Nate Herlache noted that on the south side of the lot “There’s a cemetery from 1854 and a (proposed) pool and clubhouse 20 feet away from it. I just don’t think it fits the area. It just doesn’t pass the smell test.”

Roughly 40 people crowded into City Hall for the Feb. 19 meeting, and none of those who addressed the commission spoke in favor of the proposed development.

“Please don’t turn my beautiful neighborhood into a Kwik Trip parking lot,” Rick Zahn, who lives on Milwaukee Street, said. “My neighborhood was not designed to handle this size of a proposed project. A project this size should be placed on the outskirts of a town this size.”

Amanda Farmer, who lives on Dodge Street, said she prefers single-family houses be built on the land, including those erected by Habitat for Humanity.

“This will disrupt the aesthetics of the neighborhood,” she said. “The noise and activity levels are things to be aware of. It’s going to destroy that section if it’s not brought to a more reasonable scale.”

Brenda Shupe of West Washington Street said the idea of apartments on the land is “ridiculous,” adding the city should be looking for ways to add affordable housing instead of high-cost rental units.

“That is a prime location to build singe-family houses for people who want to live in Port Washington,” she said.

Bev Ventura of West Jefferson Street questioned the proposal, saying this is a parcel that should be earmarked for something special.

“It’s a jewel right in the middle of Port Washington,” she said. “We need to find the best possible use for this site.”

Gerry Burke, a consultant with Terrace Realty, told the commission that the company had looked at a number of options for the land before settling on this plan. After density concerns were raised in a meeting with the city in December, he said, they agreed to buy an extra acre to reduce the density.

“This site has been sitting there undeveloped for more 15 years,” he said, adding the previous proposal approved by the city proved too expensive to build. Developers have tried to make plans work with single-family and two-family houses, he said, but they weren’t economically feasible.

The current plan calls for two 17-unit apartment buildings to be constructed on the west side of the property with a retention pond between them. The other five 17-unit buildings would be on the east side of the parcel, and a clubhouse and pool would be built on the south side of the lot, where a road into the campus would be constructed off Dodge Street.

The buildings would have a Craftsman style and high-end materials and features, such as nine-foot-high ceilings, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Each unit would have a private entrance and garage, as well as on-street parking.

While Burke said at a neighborhood meeting in January that most of the units would have two bedrooms, there would also be some one-bedroom apartments. The rents would range from about $1,450 a month for a one-bedroom unit to $2,200 for a two-bedroom with a den, he said.

This plan, Burke said last week, “fits very well on a site with a six-story building on the north end,” referring to the Harbor Campus facility.

Laura Stroebel of Terrace Realty said they believe the two-story buildings proposed will provide a transition from the taller senior-living building to the neighborhood and provide significant and needed housing and tax revenue for the community.

The north end of the parcel, she added, is already zoned for multifamily housing.

“We could build three 36-unit apartment buildings,” she said, adding the proposed plan “will fit the neighborhood better than three 36-unit apartment buildings.”

  Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, recommended against approving the proposed development, saying the density is too great for the neighborhood and the plan is inconsistent with the city’s land-use plan.

But, he noted, Terrace Realty can tweak and resubmit the plan or ask the Common Council to weigh in on the proposal.