by Scott Jentsch

At its meeting on Monday, August 14, 2023, the Plan Commission will be considering three actions related to a proposal to develop the southeast corner of Greenfield Avenue and Moorland Road. Mandel Group wants to create a mixed-use development that has retail businesses at the corner, with Senior Living housing on the southern edge (just north of the Recreation Trail), and multi-family housing in between.

This development requires three actions to see it come to fruition:

1. Amend the Future Land Use Map within the City’s Comprehensive Plan from Suburban Commercial to Suburban Commercial, Mixed Residential and Institutional AND 2030 Comprehensive Plan Updates
2. Rezone the Properties
3. 4-Lot Certified Survey Map

The agenda documents for this meeting contain all the relevant information pertaining to each of the three steps, so if you're interested, please review the Agenda Packet (See the Related Links section on this page) starting at page 154.

The meeting will be held beginning at 6pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall at 3805 S. Casper Drive.

Image above: screenshot from the Agenda Packet, showing a comparison of the Zoning and Land Use for the area affected by the proposed development.

Our Quick Take

This parcel has been the subject of quite a few proposals over the years. It's on a high-traffic intersection that is less than a mile from I-94, so its location means that it is one of the first impressions that many people get when entering New Berlin. The fact that it is undeveloped is not so much of a problem, but the fact that it is obviously prepared for development that hasn't yet happened and its proximity to similarly-vacant parcel on the southwest corner of Greenfield and Moorland makes a bad first impression. (Note: a proposed development for the SW corner parcel is also on the agenda)

Given the high traffic on this intersection and its proximity to a big box retailer just to the east (WalMart), this type of development makes sense. While I'm not thrilled with the idea that wetlands will be developed, I'm glad to see that a sidepath between the Recreation Trail and Greenfield Avenue is part of the plan. This turns a vacant lot into housing, and uses the corner for retail establishments. Let's hope they can figure out how to make the strip mall buildings look attractive and keep them occupied, because the last thing we need is a bunch of vacant storefronts at the entrance to the city.

Last Updated: Aug 13, 2023

• Home
• Topics
• Reference Library
• About Us