ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The village of Ashwaubenon is one step closer to finalizing plans for a new four-story hotel.
However, in order to allow developers to make minor changes to the design, the final approval has been delayed until November. It’s a design that’s remained a contentious one for area residents and business owners.
“Developers come to us and say ‘We see a market here for another hotel,'” Ashwaubenon Community Development Director Aaron Schuette said.
Schuette said the need for new amenities has grown along with tourism.
“The Expo Center, the Resch Center, Epic Events center just in this area alone, those are definitely driving room nights.”
Though nothing is finalized yet.
“I am not comfortable with approving this this evening,” Ashwaubenon Trustee Tracy Flucke said. “There’s too many things we need to look about. Some of those issues need to be looked at between staff, the developer, and see if we can make tweaks to make it a better design.”
On Tuesday night, the village’s board voted unanimously to delay making a decision until their Nov. 28 meeting. The board says it’s not looking for substantial design changes, rather reconfigurations for the placement of bicycle racks and driveways, the entrance to the hotel restaurant, and coordination with the village’s site plan.
“I guess have a concern about delaying a vote based upon tweaking something,” Will Woodward said. “It either meets it or doesn’t.”
Though Woodward, a legal representative of the development team, believes additional delays aren’t necessary. They’ve already changed the design from five stories to four to try addressing community concerns.
But even the new design presents an unwelcome sight for some.
“One of the biggest elements of our offering is that priceless view of Lambeau Field,” Bert Slinde said.
That includes Slinde, a member of the ownership group for the nearby Element Apartments.
“The view corridors that we have have been absolutely been decimated by the placement of this and it will affect the rental ability of that building.”
Even though the developers say they’ve done their work in making the necessary changes.
“Everything we’ve presented does meet your ordinance,” Woodward said. “We’ve worked with staff to design a building that meets all of those things. It may not be perfect from everybody’s standpoint but no project meets everyone’s desires.”
The building height at four floors could reach up to 58 feet. At five stories, it would have reached 70 feet. Either design required a Planned Unit Development, which was passed in September.
The hotel would also include a restaurant, pool, fitness center, and laundry room. The newest design also raised the number of on-site parking spaces to 127.
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