Shoppes at Wyndham Village plan withdrawn for re-tooling

An auspicious 200th post for SPRAWLED OUT: A day before the Plan Commission meeting wherein the project was to be discussed and perhaps approved, developer Mark Carstensen has pulled the current plan in order to re-evaluate the concerns of myriad groups who'd voiced concern with his original plan.

Mr. Carstensen should be congratulated for his decision. Though the delay is surely not pleasant for Carstensen on many levels, the best thing for Franklin as a whole is to take a fresh look at the project and make it something the community can be proud of today and build on tomorrow.

My only regret is that in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story I'm referred to in a pull-quote as an "opponent of proposed Shoppes at Wyndham Village," which, if not read carefully, makes it seem as though I don't want the development to succeed. On the contrary, I'm a proponent of Carstensen's concept of a mixed-used commercial development on the corner of Drexel and Hwy. 100. It's just very important that what is put there is sensitive to the character of the area and built with the City Civic Center zoning guidelines in mind.

So, the "reset" button has been pushed, and there are potentially very exciting times ahead. This will be a process to watch closely.

Developer to retool proposal

Franklin retail center has raised ire of neighbors, environmentalists

By ANNYSA JOHNSON
[email protected]

Posted: May 2, 2007

Franklin - Developer Mark Carstensen, whose controversial Shoppes of Wyndham Village development was to be reviewed by the city's Plan Commission tonight, withdrew the proposal late Wednesday, saying it would be revised to address the numerous concerns that have dogged the project almost from the beginning.

Carstensen said in an e-mail Wednesday that he has been working with the city, the state Department of Natural Resources, environmentalists and the community "to accommodate and balance the various concerns and legal requirements of these several parties, taking everyone's interests to heart."

Wyndham Village, at Highway 100 and W. Drexel Ave., was one of two developments that were to be taken up by the Plan Commission at 7 tonight. That project, along with the Fountains of Franklin near S. 51st St. and W. Rawson Ave., which remains on the agenda, would add as much as 790,000 square feet of commercial space within a four-mile stretch of the city.

The Plan Commission's meeting had been moved from City Hall to the police-court complex at 9455 W. Loomis Road to accommodate what was expected to be a larger-than-usual turnout, particularly for Carstensen's Wyndham development.

That project has drawn criticism from neighbors who expected more upscale retailers than the Target store that's planned, to detractors of the design who see it as a missed opportunity to create a pedestrian-friendly downtown in what's been designated in the zoning code as the city's "civic center."

"We need a town center desperately," said John Michlig, a Franklin-based author who is writing a book on suburban development and has dubbed Carstensen's project "The Shoppes at Wyndham Parking Lot" on his blog at fullyarticulated.typepad.com/sprawledout.

"Why not make this a destination place?" he said. "If we put down just another slab of parking lot, then that opportunity is lost."

Target and Sendik's

Carstensen's proposal, estimated to cost $30 million to $40 million, would be built on 38 acres and would include a 124,900-square-foot Target store and 60,000-square-foot Sendik's.

Several public officials have endorsed the project, including state legislators Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) and Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale). Milwaukee County Director of Transportation and Public Works George Torres, who sits on Franklin's Plan Commission, urged the state Department of Transportation - on county letterhead - to support it.

But the site, which is situated in a secondary environmental corridor and includes vulnerable plant species, has been problematic.

Environmentalists have been outraged by what they say is a total disregard for the landscape there. Under the current plans, 2.4 acres, or more than a fourth of the woodlands on the site, would be felled, and three of the eight wetlands filled. The footprint was reconfigured in the last month, at the urging of both the city and state DNR because the Sendik's store sat on top of a wetland.

Comments

[Julie Voigts]

Thanks for keeping everyone updated on the plans at Wyndham. I wanted to invite you to visit a blog that I've set up in response to the plan. I'm working on video/sound and had the opportunity to research the project and get some public input. I'm very proud of Carstensen too,I think that in making changes now, the project will be even better and more sustainable for the city over time...and as you said...proud of what they've fought to accomplish. Bravo Franklin!

http://julievoigts116final.blogspot.com/

[Julie Voigts]

you can contact me at [email protected]