During a May 17 planning commission meeting, a developer discussed preliminary plans for the project, which include a 2,500-seat baseball stadium, five or six lacrosse fields, a nine-hole golf course, public market, restaurant and two apartment complexes.

City officials and residents heard more about plans for an $85 million complex at the Pewaukee (Wis.) Golf Course during a May 17 plan commission meeting, including plans to scale back plans for apartments on the site and a request for public money to help finance it, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. 

The proposal, dubbed Lake Country Commons, was created by Diamond Club Entertainment under the direction Five Diamonds owner Tom Kelenic, and Sonny Bando, who has a background in Milwaukee real estate. Preliminary plans for the project include a 2,500-seat baseball stadium, five or six lacrosse fields, a nine-hole golf course, public market, restaurant and two apartment complexes comprising 410 living units, the Journal Sentinel reported. 

Bando said the group is interested in creating a premiere sports destination in the Pewaukee area, and will use the multifamily housing complexes to offset costs of buying the property and improving the infrastructure. But he said that the group is already looking into lowering the density for the two apartment complexes, one of which would be multifamily, and another for 55 and older senior housing, the Journal Sentinel reported.

“We need to size that down considerably,” Bando said. “We could definitely lower the density for multifamily. Same with senior housing. There is a high demand for quality senior housing—but we would definitely lower it.”

Mayor Steven Bierce and City Planner Harlan Clinkenbeard agreed that the density the plans propose would never pass, but they did not give details as to what they might look more favorably on. Bando also said the group will eventually request a tax incremental finance district to help pay for infrastructure costs, the Journal Sentinel reported. 

“Almost anything else that could go there would need the infrastructure as well,” said City Administrator Scott Klein after council members questioned whether the TIF would be paid back if the project is scaled back too much.

More than 50 residents came out to ask questions of the plan commission and Diamond Club Entertainment. Most said the proposal should go somewhere else, the Journal Sentinel reported. 

“I think most of us moved out here to get away from this kind of stuff,” said resident Rod Grimme. “It’s a great idea, but the wrong area. As far as a draw for Pewaukee, we don’t need it. This is Lake Country; that is the draw. I think as more people find out about this, there’s going to be more opposition to it.”

Bando will hold an informal meeting with neighboring residents before the June 21 plan commission meeting to hear more concerns and answer more questions, the Journal Sentinel reported.