MONROE — The city is eying its northwest edge for future development, seeking developer proposals for an 82-acre parcel it owns near the Walmart and Alice Place developments.
Early in the development process, with the issuance of a general request for proposals, there are several interested developers already working on potential proposals, city officials said. The matter also was reviewed by the City Council at its June 17 meeting.
“The NW development RFP had a deadline for Letters of Intent to be submitted by July 7th, and two were received,” City Administrator Brittney Rindy wrote in an email to the Times. “There is one residential proposal and one commercial.”
There remains a final “hard copy” submission deadline for the project of Aug. 2, she added.
“The city’s intention is that the new development would complement neighboring areas. Maximize and diversify mixed use, office, and residential opportunities in the community,” officials said in the RFP. “Proposals could be for the entire site or individual parcels.”
Officials also added that they would like to see a mixed-use development place a premium on proposals that could — all or in part — create additional housing stock in Monroe.
The parcel, currently farmland, is in a prime location, bound by Wis. 81 on the north, County N on the west, Wis. 11 on the south; and Koning Maple Lane Event Center to the east that also fronts Wis. 81.
According to the RFP the projects seeks to accomplish several goals: Enhance the site by providing a use that can drive economic growth, provide new “quality” housing options, expand the city’s tax base; and create a mixed-use property that helps “to fill gaps in the community including office and housing.”
Those housing gaps include a shortage of apartments and single-family houses, and officials have been struggling to find methods to close the gap between supply and demand to help keep Monroe viable as a place to live and work.
From a retail or commercial perspective, the site offers a high-traffic location near other new development. The nearest annual average daily traffic count is about 12,500 vehicles passing by daily on Wis. 11/81.
The city’s concept plan — essentially an example of how the land could be divided and developed — devotes about 34 acres to mixed use development, more than 15 acres to a single family subdivision, a small area zoned for duplex housing, and a small, roughly two-acre portion dedicated to “low-density” multi family housing. About 10 acres of the property is given over to stormwater retention ponds in the example, and just under 8 acres for parks or green space.
The city has multiple criteria for proposals and developers detailed in the RFP and officials say they are optimistic about getting those 82 acres back on the tax roll.
“When a selection decision is made, the City expects to enter into negotiations with the selected developer(s) to complete a development agreement,” said the proposal. “Upon approval and execution of a development agreement, all other development teams will be notified of the selection(s) in writing.”
In another matter, the Common Council on Monday also reviewed a proposal under which the city would give a small piece of land to Badger State Ethanol that is currently used for soccer fields at Honey Creek Park. Details are still being worked out, officials said, adding that the deal would provide Badger State Ethanol with an option to get much needed space for a commercial expansion.
“Part of the agreement is they would not only purchase the city property; they would also financially support the replacement of the soccer fields at a new location,” said Rindy.