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The site, bounded by Beloit Avenue and Burbank Avenue near Jackson Elementary School, is open space currently leased for farming. After accounting for wetlands, drainage corridors and stormwater infrastructure, consultants estimate about 39 acres are actually developable. City officials stressed that no proposals have been submitted, and no decisions have been made.

“This is a city-led concept exercise,” city staff said in a memo. “The goal is to understand what could be possible here.”

Public feedback

Much of Thursday’s presentation summarized input gathered at public sessions in September in which about 100 city residents participated. Many attendees said then they preferred single-family homes, duplexes and modest townhomes, and expressed mixed or negative views about apartments.

Residents emphasized that any new housing should match the height, character and materials of surrounding neighborhoods and include landscaped buffers between homes and nearby industrial uses. Traffic around Jackson Elementary, pedestrian safety, and the overall pace of construction were also common concerns.

Some raised fears about losing green space, trails, and the open feel of the area. Others cited worries about stormwater management, noise from industry, and the possibility of low-income rentals.

Carolyn Esswein, a consultant from CE Planning Studio of Wauwatosa presented two early design concepts.

Option A

• 270 units (4.9 units/acre)
• Mix of single-family homes, including 1,200–1,400 sq. ft. models
• 13 duplexes
• A cottage-court cluster of small homes around shared greens
• 21 townhomes along the industrial buffer
• Four apartment buildings totaling 182 units on Beloit Avenue
• Trail loop through the site
• One primary entrance from Beloit Avenue

Option B

• 234 units (4.25 units/acre)
• 50 single-family homes, slightly larger mix
• Three duplexes
• Cottage homes moved to the site’s southern area in grouped courtyards
• 20 townhomes
• Three apartment buildings totaling 140 units
• Larger stormwater pond and wider buffer to existing homes
• Two Beloit Avenue entrances
• Extension of an existing cul-de-sac for roughly 10 new homes

Renderings for both concepts showed neighborhood streets, multi-use trails and the possibility of a future trail running along Beloit Avenue.

Both plan commission and council members generally favored Option B’s larger buffer for northern neighbors and the more natural street layout.

Some questioned whether extending a long road to serve just 10 homes would be cost-effective, suggesting the area might instead support a cottage-court cluster or even a senior housing campus.

Commissioner Doug Marklein also pointed out something city residents have mentioned: that the city years ago made a promise that the land would remain a green space. City officials acknowledged that concern.

“We understand this issue,” Nick Faust, assistant to the city manager said. “But housing is a critical priority in the community, and this land is city-owned. We’re exploring its potential because it aligns with that need.”

Marklein said even though it may have been a past administration the city should look what was promised to help the neighborhood get on board with the proposed development.

Esswein reminded commissioners that both options are starting points.

“All I can tell you is it won’t be exactly like either one of these,” she said. “Our job is to show what’s possible and start the conversation.”

City council members Heather Miller, Aaron Burdick and Josh Erdman all said the designers should rethink making the roadways different due to traffic by the nearby schools or bring in the school district for conversation on how to make the traffic patterns better and less congested.

Consultants will revise both concepts based on commission feedback. Updated versions will be unveiled at a public open house scheduled for Dec. 11.