'Garden Style Apartment Community' Proposed Near Puetz And I-94

OAK CREEK, WI — A new development that would create a community of attached apartments stylized as single-family homes was proposed for farmland near Puetz Road and Interstate 94 in Oak Creek.

In documents submitted to the city, developers described it as a garden-style apartment community with an abundance of outdoor space. The "cottage homes" would each have a covered front porch, private patio and access to large landscaped common areas.

The City Plan Commission is slated to hear more about the proposed development in a meeting Tuesday. The item is marked on the agenda as a Plan Commission Consultation.

CR Devco, LLC —not to be confused with C&R Development Company in Connecticut — submitted the proposal documents. CR Devco, LLC, has also apparently submitted a similar apartment community proposal in Sun Prairie, Sun Prairie Star reported.

At first glance, renderings of the units show many of the same characteristics of a home — but they are apartments. The developer said the community would offer a housing option otherwise absent in the area desired by "Millenials and Baby Boomers."

"Our low density, single-story attached homes will live and feel like a typical detached single-family home, but with all benefits and efficiencies of rental housing," the developer wrote.

According to documents submitted to the city, the development would go after Millenials who choose to rent because of affordability, "saving for a home," or lifestyle. The development also seeks to appeal to older adults who no longer want the cost of maintaining their own homes.

The apartments would be a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, 136 in total. They would be spread across 24 buildings that each contain four, six or eight apartments.

The developer wrote that the apartment complex is a response to continued concerns about housing affordability and that the apartments can serve as a stepping stone for homebuyers and downsizers alike.

The proposed community "is intended to provide a lifestyle focused on downsizing, convenience, and enhanced social interaction, located proximate to the communities in which its residents have previously lived or intend on living with their next home purchase," the developer wrote.

More details on the proposal can be found on the city's website.