CREATIVE REDEVELOPMENT – NEW COMMUNITY DISTRICTS – NEW ENERGY AND TAX BASE

Discover the creative, place-based approach to property reuse that delivers long-term vibrancy and value for community, quickest and highest return for property owners.

Communities and property owners today face a surplus of unused institutional property; retired structures that include hospitals, higher education/schools, houses of worship, and corporate assets. To meet the growing challenge, we have developed unmatched expertise in repositioning these assets for sale and reuse using a multi-faceted, place-based approach.

It’s a service no one else can match–combining our deep professional understanding of:

  • Regional economics and trends
  • Local market and real estate expertise
  • Creative place design and neighborhood integration
  • Historic preservation
  • Up-close-and-personal understanding of the way people live, work, shop, and recreate
  • Working with the community to get buy-in that assures project approval
CASE STUDIES

What do these reinvented places and properties look and fee like? In a word: vibrant. Check out a few examples below showing how we deliver creative new uses and redevelopment … such as mixed-use community districts with long-term community benefit.

MERITER HEALTH SERVICES MASTER PLAN – MADISON, WISCONSIN
Vandewalle & Associates developed the master planning and implementation framework for Meriter Health Services Inc.’s downtown office campus consolidation. The site was a former residential facility for persons with mental disabilities which had been vacated and demolished in 2014. Project success hinged on integration of urban planning, community development, economic development, and real estate analysis. The plan allowed Meriter to consolidate and retire downtown structures to better serve the community—resulting in a primarily residential use with mixed services to support quality urban living and stabilization of the surrounding neighborhood. V&A assisted with implementation including construction permitting, architectural review, and real estate transactions.

GREATER WATERTOWN COMMUNITY HEALTH FOUNDATION
The Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation aimed to provide positive, long-lasting, and measurable health improvement across the region. In 2022 it purchased 95 acres of land in the City of Watertown, then embarked on a planning effort in partnership with the City of Watertown. V&A create the Southwest Side Conceptual Neighborhood Plan with a planning framework to guide the implementation of this key growth area. The plan helped facilitate a wide range of diverse housing options, transit connections, and vibrant open spaces while addressing the existing housing problem within the City.

THE HORICON SCHOOL DISTRICT aimed to sell a 5.7-acre former school playfield adjacent to existing neighborhoods for future residential development. Vandewalle & Associates used a proven collaborative approach between City and School District; one that ensures a result more beneficial to the property owner and community than if the property were simply sold and the buyer proposed a project that met only financial needs. By going through a public concept planning process, the School District has been able to attract more potential buyers—while giving buyers confidence their project will be financially feasible, supported by the public/neighbors, and quickly approved by the City.

MILWAUKEE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER CAMPUS is a venture of public and private healthcare institutions that have grown into a unique resource for those in the Milwaukee metro area. Vandewalle & Associates worked with the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC) and Milwaukee County for over 20 years providing the master planning for the campus. This included planning for new and expanding facilities, upgrading infrastructure, transportation and parking planning, as well as repurposing retired facilities as the needs of the consortium of health care institutions on campus evolved. As a major area employer, workforce attraction and retention, connectivity, quality of life and economic impact on the neighboring community of Wauwatosa and Southeast Wisconsin were always paramount. MRMC consists of Children’s Wisconsin, Curative Care Network, Froedtert Hospital, the Medical College of Wisconsin, DHHS Behavioral Health Services, and Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin Blood Research Institute.