By Dave Fidlin Kenosha News Correspondent - July 24, 2020 Updated Jul 25, 2020
After a chilly reception a year ago, a developer’s plan to convert a dormant office building near Gateway Technical College into an apartment complex is being revisited with pledges to decrease density.
Land Quest, a Kenosha-based real estate firm, has pitched a 70-unit apartment project that would include a vacant office building at 3601 30th Ave., with additional construction envisioned near the current dwelling.
Plans of constructing multi-family housing within the dormant building were first proposed a year ago but ultimately were scrapped when neighbors and city officials had objections to some of the elements of the would-be project, including its density.
Ryan Douglas, president of Land Quest, said the revised plans for the housing proposal, dubbed Gateway Lofts, are aimed at alleviating last year’s concerns with a larger scale development that makes more use of the exiting land.
In the latest go-around, Douglas said his firm took last year’s concerns into account.
“We feel we’ve addressed that in this plan,” Douglas said. “We want to make sure we’re putting a good project into the neighborhoods.”
As proposed, 42 of the 70 apartment units envisioned for Gateway Lofts would be housed within the vacant office building. The balance would be in four newly constructed buildings.
More than half — 36 units — would be one-bedroom, based on renderings members of the city Plan Commission reviewed Thursday. As proposed, 18 of the units would be two bedrooms and the remaining 16 units would be designed as studios. Parking spaces and detached garages also are part of the plans.
At the Plan Commission meeting, panelists heard from an ardent supporter of the proposal, the head of Gateway Technical College. “This project enhances affordable housing needs for Kenosha, and I think it’s a really well designed project,” President Bryan Albrecht said. “I think the architect did a terrific job of blending it into the surrounding neighborhoods.”
While it is an independent project from Gateway and its operations, Albrecht said he believed the housing development would fit hand-in-glove into helping the college achieve its mission and long-term goals. “We know that there is a need for affordable housing for our students,” Albrecht said. “We’ve not been able to address that. This gives us another resource for students to continue their education and for us to continue to grow our economic value.” Commissioners did not take any formal action on Gateway Lofts, other than to place it on file — a technical maneuver to denote the project has been reviewed, and comments have been taken.
Mayor John Antaramian, who chairs the Plan Commission, did share his concern about the project.. “I’ll state my personal dislike for this kind of design,” Antaramian said. “But that is just my personal taste.” In addition to approvals of the design itself from commissioners and the City Council, a number of other important steps, including rezoning the land from its current industrial park designation, would be required for the project to move forward.
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