Work is underway on Saukville's sprawling Northern Gateway Community Collective project

Cathy Kozlowicz, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
Mel's Charities founder Tom Stanton looks on as Andrew Peterson, Ross Rintelman and Alex Parker draw holiday cards during the Pigments art program in December 2019. “Mel’s Village,” part of Saukville's Northern Gateway Community Collective, is slated to provide housing, recreational and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Mel's Charities founder Tom Stanton looks on as Andrew Peterson, Ross Rintelman and Alex Parker draw holiday cards during the Pigments art program in December 2019. “Mel’s Village,” part of Saukville's Northern Gateway Community Collective, is slated to provide housing, recreational and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Coined as a "game changer" for Ozaukee County, the village of Saukville broke ground Aug. 31 for the largest development project in Saukville history.

The plan for Northern Gateway Community Collective includes a hotel, green space, over 500 residential units, an indoor sports facility, a splash pad, office space and retail businesses such as a coffee shop and restaurants, according to village documents.

One of the highlights is that it will provide an integrated community for people with disabilities. This will include market-rate apartments with 25 percent of the housing set aside for independent living for adults with disabilities.

Tom "Mel" Stanton, executive director of Mel's Charities, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this year that the retail businesses built there would be committed to hiring people with disabilities.

The project is being built on 99 acres of undeveloped land north of Highway 33 between Interstate 43 and Northwoods Road. This development, led by Port Washington-based Ansay Development Corporation, is split into north and south campuses. The south campus will be named "Mel's Village."

Kevin Winter, who lives in Cedarburg and said he is a person with a disability, said this project can be a model for the state and even the nation. He said he appreciates the integration Mel's Village plans to offer and to not be "put in a box."

"I wish more people would pay attention to apartments that are going up so we could live there and not put us in chunks," said Winter. He said with housing and a place to live, people with disabilities can be more independent, which is needed, because as parents get older, it is hard for parents to care for their children.

"I know we can't fix all the problems in this world, but this is a giant first step," said Winter.

Village President Andy Hebein said each building and structure will have to go through the village approval process before it can be built. He said there is no timeline yet for the completion of the development.

More: 'No finish line': A Milwaukee man is running a 100-mile ultramarathon for Mel's Charities

More: The Cheel in Thiensville, destroyed by fire in 2020, plans to reopen this fall

Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Saukville's biggest development project is underway