Cobalt Partners, C.D. Smith win preliminary approval for $450M development in downtown Kenosha

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The Kenosha City Plan Commission on Thursday gave unanimous approval for Milwaukee-based Cobalt Partners and Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith Construction‘s plans for a nine-block, 1,000-unit mixed-use development worth more than $450 million.

Cobalt and C.D. Smith, doing business as Kenosha Downtown Partners LLC, want to build around 1,000 units of multi-family housing, office buildings, a hotel, retail space and condominiums near Harbor Park over the span of seven to 10 years, according to planning documents. The plan targets nine blocks of downtown Kenosha in between Sheridan Road, 52nd Street, 56th Street and Lake Michigan, according to the plans.

The plan will use existing Tax Increment District (TID) #27 to help fund central park space, parking and public improvements, city officials said. Developers will build several mid-rise buildings and a large tower, officials added plans for a central park and laneway to connect residential buildings with a market hall, food kiosk and retail space.

Sheridan Road will get a full-service hotel and two office buildings, according to the plans. The project will use sustainable features such as solar panels and green roofs, as well.

Developers will build a new municipal office building and use the current city hall for a residential tower and mixed-use development, city officials said.

“We’re very excited about this project. Cobalt Partners came in … for the City Plan Commission for the developer’s agreement. The commission voted unanimously to move forward with the project and will go next to the City Council for their approval,” Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian told The Daily Reporter.

The development has been in planning for the last year and a half, and the city owns around 70% of the land and the developer owns the rest, Antaramian added. Most of the land is vacant, and the mayor said he hoped for construction to start in the fall.

The city is working with veteran’s groups to expand the Veteran Walkway in the area and bring in monuments for the Korean and Vietnam wars, Antaramian noted.

Based on the development that occurs, there will be plans for restaurants, fountains and ice-skating rinks in the future, Antaramian said.

The development will also have multi-modal transit access, including the Metra train service to Chicago, city officials added.

Kenosha has been redeveloping for the past five years and this project spans a prominent part of downtown, Cobalt Partners President and CEO Scott Yauck told The Daily Reporter.

“It’s a mixed-use redevelopment of a significant, most prominent part of downtown in the fourth largest city in the state. It’s well-positioned along the lakefront and there are a lot of amenities. These nine blocks are mainly vacant right now, so we’re creating a new destination of housing, offices and public spaces. We’re adding a quality of life to a destination that doesn’t exist today,” Yauck said.

C.D. Smith has worked on large-scale partnerships in Wisconsin’s populous cities and saw potential in downtown Kenosha, company Senior Vice President Mike Krolczyk noted.

“We have worked on large scale public/private partnerships in the Milwaukee, La Crosse, Madison and Appleton communities. We see significant potential in Kenosha for the downtown to really blossom,” Krolczyk said in a statement.

The project will fit in with other major Kenosha projects, like a $15 million redevelopment to turn the former Chrysler engine site into an Innovation Neighborhood, Antaramian added.

Chicago-based SCB Architects developed preliminary building designs and assisted with the conceptual master plan, city officials said. The next Kenosha City Council meeting is on Monday.