The developers who failed to win over Bayside with an ambitious development project that included a 30-story apartment tower are back with a fresh set of plans.
Only this time, they're not proposing a high-rise of any kind.
Milwaukee-based
Cobalt Partners and Bayside-based
La Macchia Holdings LLC filed plans this week for a $100 million development northwest of Brown Deer and Port Washington roads.
The proposal calls for similar things from previous versions. It includes a new North Shore Library, office, small-scale retail and restaurant spaces, hospitality and a mix of residential building types "that are adaptable to a variety of lifestyles."
It also features ample green space, outdoor amenities and a sustainable and walkable design. It also would promote neighborhood interaction.
"Our vision is to create a vibrant mixed-use community that offers the richness of village living with the comfort of an intimate neighborhood," the development team states in a letter to the village.
Cobalt and La Macchia are requesting the site be rezoned to allow for the development to move forward. It will be first introduced to village leaders in a pre-petition conference of the Plan Commission. The meeting is slated for the evening of Tuesday, July 27.
The plans are still conceptual, meaning they may be modified based on village feedback or market factors, said Scott Yauck, president and chief executive officer of Cobalt.
If rezoned, the property could contain a maximum of the following:
- 300,000 square feet of office or medical uses
- 120,000 square feet of retail
- 30,000 square feet of restaurant space
- Up to 550 apartment units
- Up to 100 townhouse-style residential units
- A hotel with up to 100 rooms
The four buildings along Port Washington Road would remain in place. Building height on the eastern end of the site would not exceed four stories, and would not exceed six stories anywhere else.
Cobalt and La Macchia
introduced their first set of plans, featuring a 30-story residential tower, for the 27-acre site in 2018. The plans were met with criticism from residents, and didn't move forward.
They
tried again the following year, this time proposing an apartment tower at the site that would not exceed 15 stories. But those plans
were withdrawn just a few months later.
Yauck said this latest proposal differs greatly from what Cobalt has submitted previously. It is less dense, does not include a high-rise and offers a "broad array" of housing styles, he said.
That last point is key, Yauck said, because it would give more options to North Shore residents who are looking for alternatives to large single-family homes.
"Our North Shore communities continue to lose people who want to stay here but don't have the right housing options," he said.
A village official did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
