UWM at Waukesha campus closing; what's next for 70-acre site?
WAUKESHA, Wis. - This semester will be the last for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha. What takes the campus' place is raising a lot of questions with neighbors.
Campus closing
What they're saying:
The University of Wisconsin System announced the campus' closure last year. It will leave more than 70 acres of land, currently leased to the university, up for grabs.
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"It’s a very quiet neighborhood," said Craig Swartwout, who lives nearby. "The issue is what is it that they are going to do with the property?"
At a city meeting last week, neighbors voiced concerns about impacts on wetlands and traffic. A separate development is currently under construction less than a mile from the campus on Summit Avenue.
UWM at Waukesha
Ald. Rick Lemke told the crowd some new homes at the UWM site could come with big price tags: "Those lots are going to sell for $600,000 to a $1 million."
"Affordable, single-family housings – that’s what we are looking for and have around here," said Swartwout.
$1 million homes?
What's next:
Dale Shaver is Waukesha County’s director of land use and parks. He said a project of single family or multifamily homes could generate more than $1 million per year for the tax base. When asked if that could mean duplexes, apartments or condos, he said: "It could be all of that."
UWM at Waukesha
Shaver said he "definitely" anticipates the possibility of million-dollar homes on what is now the public university campus.
"A common home in Waukesha County is probably, on average, $400,000 to $450,000 today. It doesn’t take much to get to a million dollar property," Shaver said.
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Shaver said the county has already heard from a dozen developers, but he doesn’t anticipate construction happening until next year. County leaders said they are listening to neighbor feedback – such as the desire for parks and trails.
"The city and county are working closely on that to set the expectation early," Shaver said.
The Source: Information in this report is from FOX6 News interviews and prior coverage.