Growth is theme of village, town, school State of the Community addresses

Growth was the big word at the Grafton Area Chamber of Commerce State of the Community event last week.

For the village, growth has come in the form of  new apartments and subdivisions, as well as mom-and-pop shops and chain restaurants.

For the town, work on a new town hall along with approvals for a driving range and a storage facility are signs of progress.

And for the School District, the expansion of John Long Middle School reflects a growing school system and community.

Village President Dan Delorit said the community has experienced significant business and residential growth over the last year but cautioned against viewing it as “out of control.”

On the residential side, he pointed to projects in different stages of progress like developer Robert Tillman’s Hawk’s Ridge and Stonewall Farms developments, the Harmony Grove and Riverbend Meadows subdivisions as well as the large apartment project Farmstead on Falls.

However, he said, the population of the village has only grown by about 130 people since 2023 and by about 1,000 since 2014.

“That is not what I call explosive growth,” he said. “But we are growing, and it is a good thing.

“There is a shortage of housing and we are on the cusp of great development.”

Delorit said business growth has also been steady, especially along Port Washington Road in the village’s east-side commercial area.

While the Chick-fil-A restaurant has been delayed, another chicken shop, Dave’s Hot Chicken, and a bank are being built down the road, he said, in addition to other projects along the road coming this year, like a new dental office and strip mall and large Parker John’s restaurant.

Delorit also noted the creation of a tax incremental financing district last year to fund the demolition and remediation of the “hideous eyesore,” the Goldberg foundry near downtown, to make way for residential lots.

He said Grafton has become “a place people want to live and build their business and shop.”

People who come to his repair shop Cuckoo for Clock Repair always say how much they love Grafton, Delorit said.

“The first thing they say is, ‘I am from Kenosha. I am from Germantown. I want to move here. It’s great. I can go to Costco,’” he said. 

Town Chairman Lester Bartel said “slow, deliberate growth” was the goal of the Town Board last year.

The town approved plans for Stix Golf, a driving range and golf simulator facility, on Ulao Road in October.

The plans were met with hostility from residents who argued the facility was antithetical to the town’s rural character. 

The Town Board ultimately approved the plans, however, to prevent a more obstructive use for the land, such as for a subdivision or industrial park, if it was annexed by the village.

Bartel said the plans for Stix Golf impressed him, with their focus on creating family-friendly entertainment. The facility is designed to look like a barn and will have berming to obscure it from the road.

“It’s really going to be a beautiful addition to the community,” he said.

The town also approved the construction of business condos targeted to high-end car collectors expected to be complete by the end of the year and has been renovating its new town hall building, which should be ready in the next few months.

Grafton School District Supt. Jeff Nelson said the $11.1 million expansion to John Long Middle School that began last year is under-budget and ahead of schedule.

“Those are two things you don’t usually hear,” he said.

The project will add eight classrooms and an additional bathroom to the middle school and will expand the cafeteria, relocate the science room and renovate two existing bathrooms.

The additional classrooms will allow the district to move the fifth grade to John Long, freeing three classrooms at both Kennedy and Woodview elementary schools.