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Developer previews 'missing‑middle' cottage neighborhood west of Northwestern Mutual; council requests traffic and resource studies
Summary
Adenir Azora presented a 24‑acre concept for one‑ and two‑story cottage-style rental homes on 31st Street; planning staff said the project will require replat, conditional-use approval for multifamily density and a planned-development overlay and asked for traffic and natural-resource analyses.
Developer Adenir Azora presented a concept plan on March 17 for approximately 24 acres west of the Northwestern Mutual campus on South 31st Street: a ‘missing‑middle’ neighborhood composed of cottages, duplexes and small townhomes rather than large apartment blocks.
The concept, as previewed to the council and planning staff, would cluster roughly 166 market‑rate rental units in a street‑oriented neighborhood with private yards and shared amenity space. Developer materials and site imagery submitted with the concept show one‑ and two‑story units, an on‑site clubhouse/amenity area and pedestrian connections into an existing natural corridor. The developer said parking would be provided at about 2.1 stalls per unit and that units would range from roughly 924 to about 1,150 square feet (two‑bedroom examples were discussed); the developer cited similar communities the company has built in Bristol, Kenosha County, and elsewhere.
Planning staff told the council the project would require several land‑use approvals: a replat/lot combination, a conditional‑use permit for multifamily density in the BMU zoning district, and a planned‑development overlay to adjust design standards. Staff also requested a traffic‑impact evaluation (to complement the existing studies in the area) and careful review of natural‑resource constraints—wetlands, floodplain and environmental corridors—before a formal submission. Several council members expressed concern about perceived intensity vs. density and asked the applicant to rework open‑space distribution so amenity areas are closer to unit clusters.
Developer representatives said the housing type was intended to meet demand for maintenance‑free single‑family–scale living that appeals to empty‑nesters and young professionals, and said Bristol (Kenosha County) offers a near‑term example of the product. Council members recommended a site visit to Bristol to see the built product and asked the applicant to provide a more detailed traffic assessment and more explicit natural‑resource mitigation plans with the formal application.
Because this was a concept review, no action was taken; staff will list the study requirements the applicant must include with a formal PUD/CUP submission.
