The City of Wauwatosa has again delayed approval of
Three Leaf Partners' apartment proposal in the city's village area, though city officials say the proposal is moving in the right direction.
The Milwaukee-based development firm originally submitted plans for a 163-unit, three-story apartment building at 7474 Harwood Ave. in April, but after dozens of residents spoke in opposition to the project, the city's Design Review Board (DRB) asked Three Leaf to revise its submission. Three Leaf revised its plans, reducing the number of units to 153, removing a portion of the building to make room for more community space and redesigned the building to have a more varied facade.
However, the DRB "held" the item related to Three Leaf's proposal for a second time at its meeting on Thursday.
About a dozen people spoke during public comment regarding the project, according to a city spokesperson. Five people submitted online comments regarding the project, all of which expressed their support for it.
The DRB asked that Three Leaf continue to refine the materials used for the building, but noted that the revisions, particularly the added community space, has moved the project in the right direction, the spokesperson said in a statement.
In previous meetings, Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride has said new construction projects rarely get approval from the DRB upon first submission.
[gallery td_gallery_title_input="Three Leaf's revised design" size="full" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="591516,591234,591233,591230,591229,591231"]
Announced in April as a $46 million project, the development will take the place of St. Bernard Congregation and Wauwatosa Catholic School, which sit on a 2.8-acre lot near the intersection of Wauwatosa and Hardwood Avenues.
Wauwatosa Catholic School closed down at the end of last school year and St. Bernard, which was the first Catholic church in Wauwatosa, recently announced that it would be closing to consolidate with its sister parish, Christ King.
The project was designed to comply with the site’s zoning requirements as to not require any rezoning, just design approvals. The project’s architect is Milwaukee-based
Korb + Associates and its engineer is Brookfield-based
Trio Engineering.
See below for the original design for the project:
[gallery td_gallery_title_input="Three Leaf's original design" size="full" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="588361,588363,588364,588362"]
