KEWASKUM — (excerpts from gmtoday.com): The Village of Kewauskum recently held an open house in the Kewaskum Municipal Annex Building for residents to learn the third draft of the Downtown Revitalization Plan (DRP), hear updates on the new Kewaskum Municipal Building (which was covered in the Jan. 4 Daily News) and share their thoughts about the projects, specifically the DRP, with village representatives and associates from Vandewalle & Associates.
Vandewalle & Associates worked on the DRP draft. The firm performed a study of downtown Kewaskum, took input and drafted a possible plan of what could be done with various village-owned and Brownsfields properties in the downtown area, as well as lots that could be up for sale in the future. Recommendations included restoring buildings, streetscape improvements, more parking spaces, economic development initiatives.
“This encourages development, this is a tool that I will be able to use to go around to different developers,” said Gitter.
“The goal of this plan is to create a vision for downtown,” said Elias Vareldzis, assistant planner with Vandewalle & Associates. “To provide downtown with a little breath of community and life. This isn’t trying to change Kewaskum, turn it into something that it’s not, but to provide a plan for the future and address the needs the community desires.”
According to Vareldzis, when creating the plan, Vandewalle & Associates focused on three specific site areas that could be developed in the future, and potential concepts of what could be developed in those areas.
Focuses included commercial, specifically specialty retail, and entertainment spaces, specifically indoor recreation, as well as the development of residential housing, whether it be townhomes, condominiums, apartments, single-family homes or multi-use homes (where a shop owner would have their store on the first level and their residence on the second).
Following the meeting, residents were able to talk with associates and village representatives, and give feedback on the draft DRP. The next steps will be for Vandewalle & Associates to consider the feedback and potentially make changes to their draft plan, which will then go before the Plan Commission and Village Board in the coming months.