Community development presents 2024 annual report; highlights Mann Valley, Kinney Corridor, trails and grant wins

Emily Shively, assistant director of community development, presented the department’s 2024 annual report and 2025 major projects to the Planning Commission on April 2.

Shively highlighted completion of infrastructure at the Mann Valley Corporate Park, including 4.5 miles of water main, 2.5 miles of sanitary sewer, nearly 1 mile of storm sewer, about 35,000 cubic yards of earthwork, 3,900 feet of roadway construction and roughly 2 miles of multiuse path. She said the Mann Valley ribbon-cutting marked completion of the infrastructure phase and the city is now seeking business interest for development in the park.

On the Kinney Corridor, Shively said the city has partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a feasibility study that originally hit a $10 million federal authorization cap; she reported the cap was raised to $15 million in January 2025 after congressional action and agency waivers, and the study continues. Shively also said the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program is providing technical assistance to plan river access and recreation elements, an in-kind value the department estimates at about $50,000.

Shively described trail and recreation work including a recently acquired easement from the Fox family that added more than 50 acres to enable trail connections, and work to expand trail maintenance through an amended memorandum of understanding with Kinney Off-Road Cyclists. She reviewed trail improvements completed in 2024 and noted upcoming work on safe crossings on Division Street at regional parks in partnership with UW–Madison.

Shively reviewed housing and development highlights: several new neighborhoods advanced approvals or permits, including Brookgreen (a roughly 100-unit rental townhome development), the Oak Hill second phase final plat, Red’s Place supportive housing nearing final plat, and that Caesar River Falls (a proposed 66-unit apartment building) is on hold pending financing. She said the department permitted new homes and worked on code enforcement and permitting during 2024; the transcript did not provide a precise citywide permit total.

Funding highlights Shively cited included more than $250,000 in grants the department secured in 2024. She named a roughly $200,000 Safe Streets for All planning grant, an approximately $9,000 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant for Hoffman Basin watershed work, and the National Park Service technical assistance valued in staff materials at about $50,000. Shively said the city also worked with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation on a project for Bodie Studios.

Shively said the city has built out a new Conservation and Parks division and hired Brooks Ostendorf as manager; that division will add staff in 2025. Commissioners asked about specific safe‑streets priorities — including crossings on East Cascade and Division — and about federal funding uncertainty; Shively said partners have encouraged the city to proceed and that the city remains in close contact with grant partners.

No formal commission action was required for the report; commissioners thanked staff for the update.