Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pud Extension topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wauwatosa committee approves one-year PUD extension for apartment project at 74th and Wright amid questions about partner documentation
Summary
The Community Affairs Committee approved a one-year extension to the final PUD approval for a multiunit apartment at the northwest corner of 74th Street and Wright Street, after the applicant said it had a joint-venture partner and a partner representative confirmed an LOI; one council member urged more definitive documentation before a longer extension.
The Wauwatosa Community Affairs Committee approved a one-year extension to the final planned unit development approval for a multiunit apartment project at the northwest corner of 74th Street and Wright Street, after hearing from city staff, the applicant’s construction vice president and a partner representative.
City planning staff told the committee the final PUD had originally been approved on Jan. 18, 2022, and that previous extensions were granted in late 2022, early 2024 and February 2025; the most recent extension established an expiration date of Jan. 25, 2026. Staff explained that, under the city’s updated zoning code, final approvals lapse if the landowner fails to commence the approved development within two years unless the common council extends approval, and that the applicant submitted the extension request before the expiration date. Staff recommended a one-year extension to a new expiration date of Jan. 25, 2027.
Keith Swolek, identified in the record as vice president of construction for the applicant, said the team recently secured a joint-venture partner and expects to begin construction "within a couple months," contingent on state plan approvals. He told the committee that rising interest rates and tariffs had previously made the project infeasible but that market conditions and the new partner made it feasible now.
Alder First moved to limit any extension to 12 months to prompt quicker progress; one committee member said they would not support the 12-month amendment without more definitive documentation of the partnership. The applicant offered to provide letters of intent and other documentation; a partner representative, Karen Todd, told the committee an LOI was "on the table" and that the partner joined the project two weeks earlier and was assembling general contracting and financing commitments.
Alder Foley noted the project is a 55-plus community and flagged a state deadline: Wisconsin’s adoption of the 2021 International Building Code means that projects that begin after May 1 will be subject to new energy, insulation and electrical requirements, which would force a full redesign if the project misses that start date. The applicant said redesigning to meet the 2021 IBC could add 6–16 weeks for the architect and resubmission process.
After discussion, the committee adopted the staff-recommended one-year extension and voted aye; the chair cast an aye vote and the motion passed unanimously. The committee concluded the meeting at 7:44 p.m.
The approval is procedural: the council extended the final PUD approval; staff noted that if construction does not commence by the state deadline, the applicant would need to redraw plans to meet the 2021 IBC and return to the council for further approvals if required.
