This drawing by Sketchworks Architecture depicts what the second Element apartment will look like as a four-story, 71-unit building.
By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
ASHWAUBENON – A change to a planned unit development for the Element Apartments received the backing Tuesday, June 5, from both the village’s Site Plan Review Committee and the Plan Commission.
Ashwaubenon Community Development Director Aaron Schuette informed those two governmental bodies that the amendment requested by the property owner, Slinde Realty, and the project’s architect, Stretchworks Architecture, calls for changing the design for the second building from a five-story, 67-unit structure to a four-story, 71-unit building.
Schuette said the change for the second apartment building has been sought to address the additional building costs encountered with the first apartment building, which is now under construction.
“The reason it became a four-story building instead of the typical five-story building that was approved was because of some issues that we had to deal with in building No. 1 in terms of the parking structure that’s underneath the surface parking immediately to the northeast of building No. 1,” he said. “The underneath parking actually extends underneath the surface parking for building No. 1 and building No. 2. As a result of that, there had to be some additional structural improvements to support public safety trucks and the heavy moving trucks that may park in that area.”
To cut down on those costs for the second apartment building, Schuette said the developer then created the four-story building, which will extend farther east into an area initially planned as a green space.
“That (green space) area has now been moved to the future development of building No. 3 and 4 along the path that’s going to connect this development to the Bohemian Park,” he said. “At this point there are some conceptual designs for similar type uses – park shelter, grilling areas, picnic tables, things like that.”
With the change, Schuette said the outside exterior of the first two apartment buildings will be similar, but not exactly the same, with construction on the second building beginning as soon as possible.
The change includes conditions to coordinate with the village Public Works Department on utility connections while making sure the existing storm sewer is not within the footprint of the second apartment building and providing landscape screening for an electrical transformer.
Plans for the Element’s second building call for having a mix of different sized apartment units and also include a fitness room, yoga studio, a lobby on the first floor and a fourth-floor club room with a rooftop outdoor patio.
The first two apartment buildings are scheduled for completion next year.