The village of Pleasant Prairie is putting into motion planning efforts for transforming 72 acres of largely undeveloped land into a proper village center.
The village recently closed on the purchase of the land, which covers both sides of Springbrook Road extending from 39th Avenue to the east to just before 47th Avenue to the west. The land was bought for $3.7 million from Rosemont, Ill.-based developer Land and Lakes.
Then on Monday the village board approved the hiring of a consultant, Community Collaboration, to assist the village with planning and envisioning efforts of the so-called Village Green Center project.
Village administrator Nate Thiel said Pleasant Prairie has seen growth in commercial developments in the area, indicating that now is a good time to again conduct some serious planning efforts.
“With the economic uptick and … the expansions the village has seen, we’re feeling that we are in a much better market position and time and space to move this project forward,” he said.
The consultant is tasked with creating a number of citizen committees and holding listening sessions to gather input from the community on what exactly should be included in the development. Previous planning efforts called for a mix of commercial and residential uses combined with a downtown-like atmosphere.
“We are excited to see fresh ideas from our community to shape and develop innovative opportunities to make Village Green Center the epicenter of activity, growth and prosperity for local businesses and community,” village president John Steinbrink said in a statement. “We need ideas for housing options, desired businesses, park and recreation amenities, and public and civic facilities.”
Todd Streeter, principal of Community Collaboration, said his approach to these projects is a bit different than what might be typical.
“I use a process I developed which shifts the responsibility of creating ideas from the typical project contractor to the actual community,” he said. “So, the planner doesn’t come in first, they come in later.”
The first community session is slated for mid-January. Thiel said he hopes to see a formal RFP seeking developers to be issued about 6 months later. Ideally construction would begin in 2020. Thiel added that the village has spoken with several developers interested in being involved on the project.
