A proposed development in Kenosha calls for the construction of two apartment buildings totaling 208 units near the southeast corner of 67th Street and 70th Court.
According to development plans filed with the city, one building would have 112 units and the other would have 96 units, with units ranging in size from studio to three bedrooms. On-site amenities would include a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts and a sun deck.
The buildings would go up on vacant parcels within the 17-acre Falls at Pike Creek complex. The project is a continuation of the multi-family development first constructed in 2001 that now contains 168 condo units.
Chicago-based Speedwagon Properties is the project developer, and Milwaukee-based Kahler Slater is the project architect.
The project, known as The Apartments at the Falls at Pike Creek, is actually a scaled-back version of a previous proposal for 224 units at the same site. Kenosha’s City Plan Commission approved those plans in February 2018.
Rich Schroeder, deputy director with the city’s Department of Community Development, said the first proposal called for underground parking, which later turned out to be too expensive.
“I think as they looked at the cost, they decided not to go with that,” Schroeder said.
With that parking option taken out, they also cut back on the number of units and made some other design changes.
A representative of Speedwagon did not respond to a request for comment.
The City Plan Commission is scheduled to consider the proposal on Thursday. Assuming all approvals are granted by the city, the project is slated for a June groundbreaking. Construction is expected to finish in January 2021.
In addition to the development plan itself, city officials would also need to vote to allow a higher density at the site. Current provisions allow for 15 units per acre, and the development would result in 22 units an acre.
A proposal to increase the allowed density on the site is waiting to be taken up by the Common Council.
Schroeder said based on how quickly new residential developments appear to be attracting tenants there is an apparent need for more housing in the community.
“The ones that have been going up, (developers) have been able to fill them pretty quickly, or at least the majority of them,” he said.
According to the development application, Speedwagon is seeking to build the apartments due to the site’s proximity to nearby commercial districts as well as “the rapidly growing residential population in the area.”
