Massive proposed housing development aims to revive Oconomowoc ski hill.
Milwaukee Business Journal – By Teddy Nykiel – Nov 22, 2022
Oconomowoc, WI – An early proposal to develop 236 acres around the former Olympia ski hill in Oconomowoc calls for building 624 housing units, adding commercial destinations targeting active families and potentially reviving the ski hill.
Housing development firm Neumann Developments said it intends to serve as the master developer for the site, which is just west of the Olympia Fields redevelopment in the works by Wangard Partners.
The development would have a mix of apartments, duplex condominiums and single-family houses. NEUMANN DEVELOPMENTS INC.
“We really consider this an extension of what (Wangard) started,” Neumann Developments president Steve DeCleene said. “It’s at the doorstop of Oconomowoc. … It’s really kind of a first impression piece, so it’s really important that we do this one right.”
The development would include apartments by Milwaukee’s Mandel Group that would be located behind a new Sendik’s Food Market in Olympia Fields, townhome-style duplex condominiums and ranch-style duplex condominiums, and two different sizes of single-family lots, Bryan Lindgren of Neumann Developments said.
For the site of the former ski hill, Neumann is seeking commercial users that could “breathe life back into the hill,” Lindgren said.
“Things like tubing and skiing, we’re looking for people that want to bring that back,” he said.
The area at the base of the hill could have other supporting commercial establishments like a brew pub, an events center or outdoor retailers, Lindgren said.
Earlier this month, the City of Oconomowoc Common Council held a public brainstorming session with Neumann about the development. In the next two months, Neumann Developments intends to submit requests for land use and zoning changes for the project, Lindgren said.
“We’d love to break ground on the first phase in the spring of 2023,” Lindgren said. The project would take seven years to fully build out, DeCleene said.
The Highlands of Olympia ski hill and the adjacent Olde Highlander Golf Club closed in 2013 and 2012, respectively, following financial troubles.
