Mount Pleasant welcomes denser housing as plans for business park, hospital follow Foxconn

With three hospitals, a new business park and Foxconn Technology Group’s new factory coming to Mount Pleasant, village officials moved on Wednesday to allow expected housing developments to be built more densely.

The Mount Pleasant Plan Commission signed off unanimously on a revision to zoning rules that would allow houses to be built on lots that are smaller than now permitted. The change is meant in large part to allow densely built housing projects to move forward amid the wave of development that’s expected to follow on the massive factory complex Foxconn Technology Group is building nearby, a project that promises to create as many 13,000 jobs throughout the state.

In September, the board signed off on two housing projects that could bring some 500 apartments to the village. If built, those would be the first market-rate housing developments Mount Pleasant has seen in two decades.

Local officials are still concerned not enough is being done to accommodate workers. Without a change to local zoning rules, fast-rising land prices and ordinances that prohibit building on small lots could put single-family homes out of the reach of many, said John Hewitt, a member of the plan commission.

“Right now, it’s almost impossible to build a new house for under $200,000, $300,000,” Hewitt said. “This may help people afford a single-family home and move into a smaller areas.”

Foxconn isn’t the only development that promises to bring a windfall of jobs to Mount Pleasant. The village on Wednesday also considered plans for a new business park and hospital. The business park, if approved, would be built by the Chicago-based company HSA Commercial Real Estate on 100 acres north of Highway 20. The proposed hospital, to be named Froedtert South, would stand nearby, on a 41-acre site HSA also plans to develop. The business park would complement the hospital with a hotel, offices and other commercial space, according to plans submitted to the village.

“HSA and/or buyers of certain lots seek to develop the site into a proposed hospital, medical office building, hotel, business park buildings or other similar commercial development under the business park zoning,” according to a development proposal.

The proposed Froedtert South would consist of a 2-story, 65-room hospital and a 50,000-square-foot medical office building at 12900 Washington Ave. in Mount Pleasant. The hospital’s designs would allow another two stories to be added at a later date.

Two other medical-care companies have also recently announced plans for the area. Aurora Advocate Health officials said in May it would be building a $250 million hospital on a 96-acre site at the northeast corner of Interstate 94 and Highway 20. And Ascension Wisconsin announced plans in August for a $42 million medical center.

On Wednesday, the Mount Pleasant plan commission both approved a rezoning request for the business park development and reviewed Froedert’s preliminary plans. Separately, the board debated whether to allow developers to build homes on 40-foot lots instead of requiring them to be built on 100-foot lots. Not everyone was in favor of the idea.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to pack all these houses in,” said Robert Underhill, a commission member. “We’re going to have less yards.”

Robin Palm, village planner for Mount Pleasant, said the proposed revision to local ordinances would give developers more leeway to tailor their housing projects to suit the needs of Foxconn workers and others new to the area.

“You can get a lot of house on a little lot,” he said. This would encourage variety in housing types. Variety is great for the village because not everybody wants to live in the same type of house.” Follow @natebeck9