The Village of Germantown is planning to create a "town center-style" development on one of its commercial corridors, making it the latest suburban community looking to attract density and mixed-use development to create a sense of place.
Starting last fall, the village began working with Milwaukee-based architecture and planning firm
RINKA and planning firm
CopeLand Cos. to develop conceptual plans for a mixed-use neighborhood with retail, residential and gathering spaces, similar to developments in Oak Creek, Mequon and the Town of Brookfield.
"Right now there is no heart of Germantown," said
Bailey Copeland, owner of CopeLand Cos. "Village residents and stakeholders had identified the need for a new mixed use, walkable development pattern in the Village Center district."
So far, the village and its partners held two feedback sessions and presented conceptual plans to the village's Plan Commission this week.
Site plans
The planning team selected a 22-acre site southeast of Pilgrim and Mequon roads, which would provide high visibility to the development and be near existing village retail and public spaces.
The site is currently occupied by a gas station, BMO Bank branch, medical building and strip mall, which would relocate or find a new space in the contemplated town center development.
Plans for the town center development are in early stages, but the city and its partners hope to seek private developers to build commercial, office and mixed-use buildings with residential units near the intersection of the two arterial roads, along with a large public gathering space. Planners envision this space having restaurants, bars and other retail surrounding a plaza-style space that could hold events like farmers markets.
Higher density housing could be built to the south and east of the commercial area, with lower density residential built on the southern end of the site bordering a single family neighborhood.
Square footages and unit counts would be dependent on what developers propose.
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Map from RINKA[/caption]
Market experts estimate that the village could absorb upwards of 20,000 square feet of office or retail space and has a "high demand for housing," according to
Eric Mayne, senior design director at RINKA.
The idea is to add more residents as a critical mass to make more retail financially viable and attractive to users, according to Copeland.
"We're looking to create a heart of Germantown that focuses on synergies of various densities of housing and a mix of retail activities, all accessible through new pedestrian infrastructure," Copeland said.
Pubic reaction and next steps
The initiative was borne out of the village's 2050 Comprehensive Plan, which called for pursuing such a development to support economic development goals.
The Germantown Village Board on Monday will vote on if it wants to pursue the conceptual plans and discuss phasing, feasibility, development partnerships and the village's role in financing the project through methods like tax incremental financing.
The plans received mixed reaction from residents at the Plan Commission meeting this week, with some saying they travel out of Germantown to enjoy the types of retail and amenities proposed in this development.
"I think that Germantown does not have a heart, and we've considered leaving Germantown because of that and going to one of the neighboring communities that does," one resident said.
"Mequon Road hasn't changed in 20 years, I think this is a good thing," another said.
Several residents had concerns about the village's role in the development however, asking that it not provide TIF or other financial support, unless the development meets more of the requests of residents like limiting the number of rental units compared to for-sale units.
