There are currently 2,121 housing units in the development pipeline in Oconomowoc.
There are also tens of thousands of square feet of commercial space, more than 100,000 square feet of industrial space, dozens of new businesses and downtown revitalization underway, all in a city of about 12 square miles and a population of about 18,000.
Between 2010 and 2021, Oconomowoc saw a 15% increase in its population, according to U.S. Census data, and added more than 2,000 housing units in the same time frame.
While quality of life, high-ranking schools and Lake Country’s natural beauty have contributed to Oconomowoc’s population boom, city staff and developers also point to intentional practices that have made the city ripe for development and continued growth.
Once a bedroom community of mostly single-family homes, the city is on a mission to create neighborhoods with life cycle housing and return to the self-sustaining municipality it was decades ago, said Bob Duffy, economic development director for the City of Oconomowoc.
“At one time, most of the people that lived here supported the downtown, supported the businesses, but consumer patterns change, traffic patterns change,” Duffy said. “We’re trying to shift back to some of that.”
Take a drive down Highway 67 and this is evident.
At the north end of Oconomowoc is the Prairie Creek Ridge subdivision with 288 single-family lots and the 88-unit Park at Prairie Creek Condominiums that surround a public park, elementary school and land for future commercial buildings.
To the southwest is downtown Oconomowoc, which has been the site of revitalization and increased density in recent years including a senior living facility, three condo developments and almost 100 apartments as well as the redevelopment of the historic Rockwell building.
“That’s really helped to fuel the vitality of our downtown, that’s started to bring in restaurants, retail, make it a destination,” Duffy said.
Farther south is the Pabst Farms development area and Summit Avenue corridor, which includes the large Olympia Fields mixed-use development by Wangard Partners. The area is also home to other developments including the 302-unit Hackney House apartment complex by Mandel Group.
Data from Mandel’s development provides some insight as to who’s moving to Oconomowoc – and from where. About 40% of residents who moved to Hackney House had previously owned a home. That’s very high, especially given that only 6% of the tenants are retirees, according to Bob Monnat, senior partner at Mandel, indicating the move was either employment or lifestyle driven.
Further, only 24% of tenants moved from somewhere else in Lake Country, which is low, Monnat said. A notable portion, 14%, moved from Milwaukee’s western suburbs such as Wauwatosa or Brookfield.
Mandel Group is partnering with Pewaukee-based Neumann Developments Inc. on a 622-unit housing project, known as Olde Highlander, recently moving forward near the former Olympia Resort grounds, located along Highway 67 near Oconomowoc Lake.
“I would like to tell you that we are super proactive in our approach to developing real estate. The truth of the matter is that we don’t have that privilege in southeast Wisconsin,” said Steve DeCleene, president of Neumann Developments.
DeCleene noted three things that drew the firm to the Oconomowoc area. First, as development moves west from Milwaukee, large parcels are difficult to find further east. Properties under 25 acres are not very attractive for single-family home developments in today’s economy. But in Oconomowoc, Neumann was able to purchase 228 acres of land for its Olde Highlander development.
Second, bringing sewer and water lines to doorsteps is way more expensive than any developer can afford to do and be profitable right now, but in Oconomowoc, most parcels are already hooked up to city utilities, he said.
“When we find out about a parcel that meets these two criteria, and that’s in a great school district in a great community, we get pretty aggressive,” DeCleene said.
Third is zoning. Oconomowoc’s zoning code allows for 70-foot-wide lots in suburban districts and 50-foot-wide lots downtown. That’s compared to many other Lake Country municipalities that don’t currently have zoning for lots narrower than 100 feet – those restrictions aren’t very attractive for single-family home developers.
“(Municipalities with lot width minimums of 100 feet and up) are really saying, ‘We’re not interested in a house if it’s worth less than $600,000 or $700,000,’” DeCleene said. “That’s a really unhealthy attitude toward housing in America today.”
