VERONA, WISC. For the third time this month, City Alders discussed proposals for a 12-acre site south of West Verona Avenue, which includes the City’s historic, original graded school.
In the final discussion–while a public pool had been a popular concept within the community–it was determined this site would not be the best location for a pool and required parking, and that the community placed a high priority on the retail space in the Steve Brown plan which could help connect disjointed shopping areas in the city’s core. The winning plan’s higher proportion of affordable, workforce housing was also an important factor.
The 32-page winning proposal was chosen from six submittals. The plan for the site shows 236 apartments – 104 meeting federal guidelines to be called “affordable” – plus 10,000 square feet of commercial space, a civic plaza to host events and activities and a possible children’s museum in the former New Century School building.
The $54 million project from Steve Brown – which is partnering with Vandewalle & Associates for site design and Alexander Company for development – is expected to take months of planning and two or more years to develop.
Alders expressed that this was only the first stage in a long process that will include plan refinement, negotiations, and financing including potential grants and/or TIF district extension.
