Pewaukee-based Neumann Companies, Inc. plans to develop 351 single-family home lots at Pabst Farms, creating four new neighborhoods in the development along I-94 in Oconomowoc and Summit.
The homes are being planned on 255 acres in the Village of Summit, with the majority of the homes located west of Sawyer Road, south of Valley Road. Some of the homes would also be built on a parcel of land east of Sawyer Road, according to plans submitted to the village.
Neumann Homes purchased the 255 acres from Pabst Farms Development, plus an additional 100 acres that will be preserved as open space and will include five miles of walking and bike trails, said Matt Neumann, president of Neumann Companies.
Neumann Companies plans to develop the land and sell it to home builders who could begin construction within 12 months, Neumann said.
“We really like the idea of a master planned community,” he said. “We like the interstate access and the conveniences of shopping, banks and restaurants that are already there. And we think that with the addition of 351 homes, more development will come. Plus, Lake Country is the most desirable place to live, in my opinion.”
The homes will be built on lots that are 8,400, 12,000, 18,000 and 26,000 square feet. Home prices will range from $350,000 to over $700,000 depending on the neighborhood, Neumann said.
“The build out will take six to 10 years,” he said. “Right now the market is strong. Maybe over the next six to 10 years it won’t be as strong, but we feel like with the various price points, we will still be able to offer people enough choices.”
Neumann has not yet reached out to potential builders, but will do so once it has secured the necessary approvals.
The Village of Summit will hold a public hearing Aug. 18 before voting on rezoning the land from agricultural to residential and a planned development overlay. The City of Oconomowoc would provide water and sewer to the development.
Plans for hundreds of homes at Pabst Farms is noteworthy since the project has been mostly stagnant since the Great Recession.
Prior to the recession, developer Peter Bell’s 1,500-acre Pabst Farms development included plans for a 1 million-square-foot upscale regional shopping center, called the Pabst Farms Town Centre, northeast of I-94 and Highway 67.
Several other components of the overall Pabst Farms development plan came together, including East Lake Village in Oconomowoc, a 170 single-family home development built by Pabst Farms Development, two hotels, a 1 million-square-foot Roundy’s distribution center, and a neighborhood shopping center anchored by a Pick ‘n Save grocery store.
But plans for the upscale regional mall never moved forward and most of the other commercial development at Pabst Farms ceased during and after the Great Recession.
William Niemann, executive vice president for Pabst Farms Development, believes the Neumann proposal could finally spark more commercial development in the project.
“More rooftops will attract more commercial development,” Niemann said.
Other residential projects are also underway.
Kings Way Homes, of Elm Grove, is currently building Village Crossing, a 144-unit condominium project. Pabst Farms is the developer.
Pabst Farms has also tapped Minneapolis-based Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors to build 200 to 250 apartments at the development next year, Niemann said.
“Ideally, we would (still) like to build a shopping center, which would have various components including entertainment and hopefully restaurants and a movie theater,” Niemann said.
