Housing project isn’t dead

The developer of a proposed 100-home residential development on Fredonia’s north side said this week he’s still willing to work with the village to get the project done even though trustees voted to not finance the project.

“We’ll be back with a more conventional financing approach,” Hillcrest Builders owner Oyvind Solvang said Tuesday.

Solvang had proposed that the village use its ability to borrow at a lower interest rate to finance infrastructure improvements for the project, with the village being paid back through the sale of homes and lots.

It’s a financing method Solvang said he has used on other projects, including some much larger than the one in Fredonia.

“We’ve done it before. It is by no means unprecedented,” he said. “I think it’s a good approach for these smaller towns.”

But village officials said it would push the village closer to its allowable borrowing limits than they are comfortable with, leading the Village Board to vote down the financing proposal earlier this month.

Solvang admitted to some frustration with the village’s decision.

“They just said they will turn it down for reasons they should have known all along,” he said. “I don’t know how much it sets us back, but we’ve lost half a year through this process. I’d just call it unfortunate.”

Solvang said a tax incremental finance district, which diverts property tax revenue for a set period of time to pay for infrastructure, is likely not a solution in this case as the project has no commercial component.

“A TIF is probably not in the cards there,” he said.

Solvang said he expects to be back before the Village Board in February or March.

“We still believe in Fredonia,” he said.

Meanwhile, a land swap between the Northern Ozaukee School District and Hillcrest is on hold while the village and the builder iron out their agreement.

“We have an agreement but it’s pending on the village (negotiations with Hillcrest), based on that land being developed. We aren’t doing anything until we know it’s moving forward,” School Board member Dan Large said.