Wauwatosa high-rise tower approved
Project developer aims to begin work in September
Nearly a year after the developers for a proposed high-rise tower in Wauwatosa withdrew their plans, a Wauwatosa board approved revised plans for the tower Thursday night.
The 28-story building, to be developed at the southwest corner of West Blue Mound and North Mayfair roads, has come before the design review board three times in recent weeks to discuss the aesthetic aspects of the building.
The tower has space for 65 apartment units. The design also now includes eight floors of office space totaling about 80,000 square feet.
It was ultimately up to the Wauwatosa design review board to approve the building permit, as the project doesn’t need approval by the plan commission or common council because it fits as a “permitted use” in the C2 zoning district.
However, some nearby neighbors have called for the developers to downsize the project. They also noted that city ordinances for the board say the design review board shall consider “the site location and proposed location of the structure on the building site.”
But Wauwatosa city attorney Alan Kesner said in a prior email to a resident that the design review board “only reviews the exterior design, not the use itself, and has no authority to stop the project from moving forward.”
The board voted, 4-2, to approve the project. Members Robert Kennedy and Gary Woodward cast the two no votes on the project. Both had previously raised concerns about how appropriate the building was.
In past meetings, attorney Joe Cincotta, who represents the nearby neighbors, has asked the developer to come back to the board with a more appropriate height and a plan that “creates a better transition to the neighborhood.”
Cincotta also argued that the building will negatively affect property values in the area.
“The proposed tower, if allowed to go forward, will negatively impact and cause a depreciation of property values in the immediate neighborhood. This is
an obvious conclusion based on the dramatic difference in size and scale of the proposed tower in comparison to the single-family residential structures immediately to the west,”said a Jan. 19 letter from Cincotta.
In response, Brian Randall, an attorney who represents developer John “Johnny V” Vasallo on the project, submitted a letter to the board from the president of Moegenburg Research Inc., a Wisconsin certified general appraiser.
“No ‘substantial depreciation in property value' of nearby residential properties has been caused by other multi-story or mixed-use developments and it is my professional opinion that no substantial depreciation will be caused by the vertical mixed-use building,” wrote Peter Moegenburg in that letter.
Randall has also maintained that the project fits within the zoning for the site and is a permitted use.
Vasallo said he's looking for construction to begin in September. He hopes the project will be completed about 18 months after that.
“I feel great; I'm so proud of our team,” Vasallo said Friday.
“I'm going to build something there that we can all be proud of. It'll be an asset for the community, and I know not everyone's happy about it, but I'm going to work really, really hard to be a great neighbor,” he added.
Indy Stluka is a nearby neighbor who has been opposed to the plans for the site.
He maintains that the size and density of the project are not appropriate for this neighborhood.
Stluka is also worried about the precedent this project will set in Wauwatosa.
“This sets a precedent now for Wauwaotsa, in that unlimited height structures can be built in a C2 district,” Stluka said. Stluka also said he and other neighbors who are opposed to the project are considering appealing the design review board decision to the city.