Port Washington mixed-use development site sold
A large mixed-use development site in Port Washington has been sold, clearing the way for construction to begin.
The City of Port Washington sold the 36-acre vacant site, which overlooks Lake Michigan on the east side of Highway C, south of the We Energies plant on Sunset Road.
Milwaukee development firm Black Cap Halcyon Holdings LLC bought the property for $2.26 million, according to state real estate records posted Tuesday.
Black Cap completed its purchase one year after the Port Washington Common Council approved the land sale and a development agreement with the firm.
Black Cap, led by Anthony Polston, plans to develop Prairie’s Edge, featuring apartments, single-family homes and commercial space, in three phases over five years.
Polston’s plans call for a total of 238 housing units, including apartments, town homes and detached houses, as well as around 40,000 square feet of commercial space throughout the property.
Also, there would be 5.1 acres of parkland, including a public walking trail along the lakefront.
Polston couldn’t be immediately reached for information about when he plans to begin developing Prairie Edge’s first phase.
The privately financed development’s completed value is expected to be between $50 million and $58 million.
Prairie’s Edge is among two large housing developments planned for Port Washington’s south end overlooking Lake Michigan.
Developer Tom Swarthout wants to build Cedar Vineyard, featuring 68 high-end homes and a vineyard east of Highway C, as well as five homes and a winery west of the road, near Stonecroft Drive.
But Swarthout, who operates Lake Forest, Ill.-based Highview Group Ltd., has been unable to complete his planned purchase of the 227-acre development site.
That’s because of a gap between his appraisals of the land’s value and the price sought by its owner, Waukesha State Bank.