A project in Allouez is looking to bring vibrancy to the community. It's slated to build on a former strip mall site along Webster Avenue and St. Joseph Street. Photo provided by Village of Allouez.
ALLOUEZ, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A project in Allouez is looking to bring vibrancy to the community.
The former strip mall site along Webster Avenue and St. Joseph Street doesn’t look like much now, but the empty lot will soon become apartments and retail space.
“It’s a very exciting project. We’ve been working on this for a long time, but we have found a partner who will give Allouez what we are looking for, and it’s going to be a great launch for the future,” Allouez Village President Jim Rafter said.
The structure will sit three stories high on Webster and four stories along St. Joseph, where the ground begins to slope downwards. The first floor will have space for retail, which would allow for restaurants, shops and more.
Rafter said this fits perfectly with the community’s vision to create a “Main Street” feel.
“Allouez doesn’t have such a thing, so we want to bring in people who can live there and recreate there and eat there and have a place to call community,” Rafter said.
The building will have room for about 100 apartment units — a mix of studio, one and two bedrooms. There will also be fitness areas, common spaces, outdoor patios and fire pits.
Rafter said this helps fill a need for additional housing in the village. Nearby businesses are looking forward to seeing something go there.
“I feel like that piece of property has been an eyesore for years,” Bay Area Yoga Owner Kat Kelly said.
Bay Area Yoga is just steps from the vacant site. Kelly said filling that void will not only help business, but the village of Allouez as a whole.
“All the exposure we can get, the more people in the community, it just makes things more vibrant. And I like the feeling of having a community where people will stay more local and enjoy the area that they live in,” Kelly said.
Some tax increment financing will go towards the project. The total cost of it is not clear, but Rafter said the project will primarily be funded by the developer.
Construction on the property is expected to begin this spring. The goal is to have it finished sometime in summer 2027.
Comments