Oshkosh's northwest side could see more housing for the city, but town residents have traffic, visual concerns
OSHKOSH – Developers are eyeing the city's northwest side for new apartments and other housing, but surrounding community members have concerns for what that means for them and their properties.
The city Plan Commission on Tuesday approved a general development plan for 522 housing units on former farmland of the west 3400 block of Lake Butte des Morts Drive, between U.S. 45 and Lake Butte des Morts, as well as the specific implementation plan for phase one — of six planned — for the project.
Because of wetlands along the lake, only 20 acres of the 72.5-acre property will be buildable, and the plans call for five four-story buildings with 82 apartments, two four-story buildings with 40 apartments and eight two-story townhouses with four units each, as well as a clubhouse and parking, the latter of which will be partially underground.
Apartment types will include studio apartments with about $700 rent and one-to-three-bedroom units for up to $2,000 rent, according to Jake Buswell of development company Red Earth, LLC.
Phase one, expected to start in less than two years, will include the two 40-apartment buildings and clubhouse with a pool. Phases two through six will include one 82-unit apartment building each, and the townhouses will be included in phases four and five.
The entire project, with each phase being multi-year projects, is expected to be finished in eight to 10 years, Buswell said at the meeting.
The developers aim to address housing challenges outlined in the city's 2021 Housing Needs Assessment, released in March 2022, which includes a shortage of moderately priced houses and rentals that appeal to the needs of residents and families.
The report also forecasts Oshkosh's population to grow by more than 3,200 permanent residents by 2030, and the city will need to produce about 1,700 new housing units to accommodate them.
Buswell said the aim for this project is to meet some of the needs from the report and appeal to residents that make around $75,000 in household income, particularly those that work in Oshkosh but commute from Neenah or Menasha.
Many people expressed opposition or concerns for the project in more than two hours of conversations between both plans, especially town of Oshkosh residents whose homes are near the property. Concerns included traffic impacts, effects to and from the wetlands and the visual impacts to nearby properties.
Ultimately, the general development plan passed 6-3, while the site implementation plan passed 6-2. Commission member John Kiefer left before the second vote.
Commission members Thomas Perry and Kathleen Propp opposed both the general development plan for the project and the specific implementation plan for phase one because of the density of the buildings and residents, though Perry added that his concern was more environmental due to the land near the lake not seeming suitable for the project.
Member Mamadou Coulibaly opposed only the general development plan and said more conditions need to happen before he can fully support the project.
While many approvals are still needed for the project to start, the next step will be a presentation to city council next Tuesday.
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh considers 522 housing units near Lake Butte des Morts
