JANESVILLE — There’s work to be done at Janesville’s former GM/JATCO site before redevelopment. Whether the property ultimately hosts a data center or something else, there’s more data to gather on the environmental conditions, market trends and community feedback before shovel hits dirt.
Representatives from Stantec said the consulting firm is still in the data-gathering phase, with planners compiling existing conditions maps, environmental assessments and market analyses before beginning concept designs for the site.
Project manager Amy Worsham said the team has completed regional context, zoning, future land use, environmental and mobility mapping to better understand how the property fits into the surrounding community.
Consultants also outlined environmental conditions on the property, noting portions of the former manufacturing site contain documented contamination issues tied to past industrial uses.
Worsham said the north portion of the property, where most of vehicle manufacturing previously occurred, contains known soil impacts, while other areas, including a sediment repository and former trucking fuel station JATCO site have known soil studies.
Consultants divided the property into sections based on anticipated redevelopment challenges. Areas formerly used for rail spurs are expected to have greater environmental concerns, while areas primarily used for storage, like the JATCO site, may present fewer redevelopment obstacles.
Worsham said those findings will help guide future land-use recommendations and could limit where housing would be practical.
“We’re not saying that these areas could not be single-family residential,” she said. “But what we’re saying is that it’s likely going to cost a lot of money to get it there, and it’s not going to be the most cost-effective use of the property.”
Market analyst Jay Demma presented demographic and economic trends in Janesville and Rock County, highlighting an aging population and shrinking household sizes.
According to the analysis, Janesville’s number of households has grown faster than its population over the past 15 years. Demma attributed that trend in part to increasing numbers of older residents and smaller households.
“There is this interesting pattern here that we start to see, in which we’re seeing faster household growth than we are actually population growth,” he said.
The presentation showed declines in households with children and increases in residents living alone or married couples without children. Median age in Janesville has also steadily increased since 2010.
Demma also reviewed employment and housing trends tied to the closure of the General Motors plant in 2009 and the city’s recovery since then.
He said blue-collar industries have driven much of the region’s job growth during the last decade.
“It’s been the outlier in performance,” he said of the blue-collar sector. “It’s had the highest percentage increase in jobs, and it’s had the highest overall jobs.”
The analysis also found housing prices in Janesville and Rock County have risen faster than incomes in recent years.
“Incomes have increased, but they have begun to flatten, and they are nowhere keeping the same pace with that same rate of change as the cost of housing,” Jay said.
Consultants said recent housing construction trends also show stronger growth in multifamily housing compared with single-family homes.
The next major phase of the project will be a public visioning workshop scheduled for June 24 from 5-7 p.m. Organizers are considering either the Daniel Hale Resource Center or Fire Station No. 1 for the open house, depending on availability.
The meeting will be open house style. It will be utilized to gather community feedback on future land uses, redevelopment priorities and design ideas for the property.
Worsham said planners will use feedback from residents, stakeholders, developers and local organizations to help shape multiple redevelopment concepts expected later this year.
