A Wauwatosa panel charged with reviewing the design of new buildings for the second time reviewed the proposed Drew Tower at Mayfair and Bluemound Roads in a lengthy session that went late into the evening on Thursday.
While the Wauwatosa
Design Review Board did not vote on the project, some reviewers questioned whether a tower was even appropriate for the site. Residents opposed to the project again came out in force.
An investors group led by restaurateur John “Johnny V” Vassallo plans to build a 28-story tower that would stand 364 feet tall. It would contain 65 apartments, about 80,000 square feet of office and medical office space, ground-floor retail space and 572 parking stalls. The site is just south of Vassallo's Mo's Irish Pub restaurant in Wauwatosa.
The tower would be built on the former site of an Edwardo's restaurant, southwest of Mayfair and Bluemound.
The review board generally considers exterior design and aesthetics of building projects. But board member Robert Kennedy said it is also the board's responsibility to consider other factors. This includes, he said, whether the Drew Tower is similar to other buildings in the area and how it would impact surrounding properties.
"We’ve ignored whether or not this building is appropriate for the site and this neighborhood," he said.
Fellow board member Gary Woodward concurred. He said the building is "epically at variance" to the houses and other buildings nearby.
Ed Haydin, another member of the review board, pushed back on that idea. He said the site is appropriate for a high-rise given that it lies next to massive and busy city streets.
The property zoning also allows for such a building, board member Dennis Scherr said. He pointed out the property has been zoned this way for at least two or three decades.
“I think that this is a primary place to build a building of this intensity, and it is codified," Haydin said.
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Comments came during a presentation of design tweaks. Milwaukee-based project architect Kahler Slater presented a different landscaping concept that aimed to be more pleasing to pedestrians. It also discussed at length its design of the six-story parking podium. The team used decorative panels and vines in an attempt to cover it up.
This was in response to
board member critiques from a November meeting. Some were not satisfied with the changes.
Board member Carolyn Steussy said the development team should consider taller trees in front of the parking structure. She also asked that the gray concrete sidewalks be replaced with more colorful pavers. She said the parking garage at Target Field in Minneapolis was a good example of incorporating artwork into its design.
"I do think the tower itself has some nice qualities to it, but again the headwinds I have are of the pedestrian experience," board member Dan Beyer said. "I guess what you have presented here has not convinced me otherwise."
The board again opened up the meeting to public comments. Residents said they were concerned about things like traffic congestion and property values.
Among the speakers was lawyer Joe Cincotta, who represents a group of residents opposed to the project. Cincotta is also the lawyer for a group of Bayside residents and property owners that is
suing the village over an incentives deal on a large mixed-use project in that community.
The Wauwatosa Design Review Board has also
recorded 28 pages of email comments.
Vassallo first
unveiled plans for a 350-unit apartment tower for the site in August 2020.
That tower and subsequent versions required approval of the Plan Commission and Common Council. He
withdrew plans for a 20-story, 340-unit tower at the site in February ahead of a likely Common Council denial.
This latest proposal does not require a similar set of approvals because it fits within the commercial district zoning-code standards of the property. The plans for the building are within the standards of the site’s current zoning restrictions. The plans state the commercial district zoning code requires a minimum lot area of 1,000 square feet per residential unit. That translates to just under 66 units. The proposed tower would contain 65 units. The zoning has no maximum building height restriction, and the project also satisfies its parking requirements.
Since the project complies with existing zoning for the site, the Design Review Board is the only committee approval it needs.
Whether the board is close to approving the project also appears to be up for debate.
"I think we’re almost there, it’s the small details now," Scherr said.
Kennedy challenged that sentiment.
“I’m still waffling on the appropriateness of this," he said. "So, that’s still on the table for me. That’s not settled.”
