Apartment Complex Proposed Near Konkel Park Draws Heat At City Meeting

GREENFIELD, WI — A proposal to bring a 257-unit apartment complex to the former site of River Falls Family Fun Center near Konkel Park was met with criticism from some members of the Greenfield Plan Commission on Tuesday, including the city's mayor.

The commission eventually voted 5-2 to recommend that the common council approves a zoning change that could eventually permit the apartment complex at 5401 Layton Avenue. A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for an Aug. 16 meeting where the common council will have the choice to move the project forward or not. Decisions on the proposal's site plans would come later.

The proposal came from Ogden & Company. Two U-shaped buildings, both four stories tall, would be built next to each other forming a courtyard. Developers said they plan on building green spaces, nature paths, pickleball courts, a dog area, outdoor grills and firepits into the complex, named "Verde Terrace." The buildings would contain a mix of market-rate studios and larger apartments.

Greenfield Plan Commission's agenda for July 12 showed renderings of the proposed development as it could look near Konkel Park.

'Right Church, Wrong Pew': Proposal Location Draws Heat

"This is the worst location for long use planning within the city, period. Because it's next to the one place where the community gets together in," Greenfield Mayor Michael J. Neitzke told other members of the board.

"It's the densest apartment complex in the city, next to a park that was predominantly green space," Mayor Michael J. Neitzke said during the meeting. "And from my perspective, I don't like that."

The mayor has since told Patch that he will recuse himself as presiding over the Aug. 16 public hearing amid his outspoken opinion on the development location. Some other commissioners agreed with his comments in the Tuesday meeting.

"Right church, wrong pew," plan commission member David Schilz said in the meeting. "You're putting it in the middle of everything Greenfield — you got your historical society, you got your baseball fields — and we're going to plop that in between."

Schilz added it wasn't the apartment itself that he did not like, just the location.

District 3 Alderman Karl Kastner defended the project in the meeting. He said 27 years ago he would have given a firm no. But as time has gone on, he said he wants the city to have prospects of bringing in youth.

SEE ALSO: Proposal Could Replace River Falls Family Fun Center With Apartments

"I didn't see this as the future of Greenfield 22 years ago, but in 2022, this is the way I see Greenfield being economically viable in the future for my children," Kastner told other members of the board.

Mike Testa, who said he represents Ogden and the property's seller, addressed some concerns about how the city's yearly festivities at Konkel Park may impact the apartment complex with closures on Layton Avenue.

Testa told the board his company recently finished a similar complex that regularly deals with shutdowns near State Fair Park. The company has become adept at communicating with tenants, and people understand what they have to deal with, Testa said.

Testa told the board Ogden expects the complex would generate around $800,000 in tax revenue each year.

The recommendation from the plan commission on Tuesday is just that. The common council will have the final say in the project moving forward. Notably, if two members of the commission weren't present Tuesday, the proposal would have likely been stalled, according to Neitzke. Two alternates who were present said they would have voted no for the rezoning change.