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Site plan approved for climbing gym in Ashwaubenon

By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer


ASHWAUBENON – A site plan to include a climbing gym as part of a five-story building planned along Mike McCarthy Way was approved Tuesday, April 27, by the village board.

Community Development Director Aaron Schuette said Merge Urban Development previously received village board approval in January to construct a mixed-use structure on the north side of Mike McCarthy Way between Holmgren Way and South Ashland Avenue.

Schuette said the climbing gym addition will be attached on the east of the building and operated by Odyssey Climbing Company, which will have indoor rock-climbing walls and a bouldering gym as an amenity for building residents as well as the public.

“On the north side of the building there will be the primary entrance (for the climbing gym) along with a glass curtain wall,” he said. “To break up the mass (of the gym wall) along Mike McCarthy Way, there is going to be planted six Princeton Sentry Ginkgo biloba trees.”

Schuette said two small climbing hills will be added to the public patio area in front of the building to help market the property.

He said the village’s Site Plan Review Committee and Plan Commission previously recommended approval of the site plan.

Ben Ganther of Odyssey Climbing told the commission April 8 his company will sell memberships for the climbing gym.

“There’s also day uses,” he said. “People can come in and just climb for the day or a few hours. We’ve got a small gear shop that’s a part of it as well. It is a separate business entity from the overall development, but it serves, obviously, as a draw and an amenity for the residents within the building as well.”

Ganther said the Odyssey Climbing, which will occupy slightly less than 12,000 square feet within the building, is projecting to attract about 1,700 members for the climbing gym.

“It will take a few years for us to get to that level,” he said. “Now, that won’t be the number of people that are in there at one time, but it’s probably designed to hold 250 or so people at (maximum) capacity, give or take.”

Because the property is located in the village’s Sports and Entertainment zoning district, the site plan required final approval by the village board.

Merge is planning to construct the five-story, mixed-use building with 3,100 square feet of commercial space on the first floor, 88 multi-family residential units on the second through fifth floors and the climbing gym on the east of the building.

Schuette said the building with the climbing gym is the first phase in Merge’s development, which could include additional structures in the area.

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