[12.18.2025] Revised Pabst Farms Project Plans Swap Some Retail for Owner-Occupied Units (Oconomowoc Enterprise)

OCONOMOWOC — Aldermen expressed much more favorable feedback Tuesday about plans for a mixed-use development on 210 acres inside Pabst Farms after the developers listened to feedback and swapped some rental units to be owner-occupied homes and condos.

No action was taken on the proposal, which was presented before the Committee-of-the-Whole, but the consensus was for Cobalt Partners and Pabst Farms Development to continue to move forward with the plans as presented.

On Dec. 2, Scott Yauck, founder and CEO of Cobalt Partners, and Brian Bell with Pabst Farms Development, first presented the plans for the Harvest at Pabst Farms, which would be built on land in the city and the Village of Summit. The plans had called for 142 single-family, attached homes in Oconomowoc and 108 in Summit.

For garden-style homes, there would be 120 units, all in Oconomowoc, and 110 apartments, all in Oconomowoc. All of those properties, both single-family and apartments, would have been rentals. However, the aldermen and Mayor Robert Magnus voiced concern about the plan.

On Tuesday, the revised plans called for removing some of the rentals along the northern end of the development near the existing single-family home subdivision. That would include about 60 single-family homes, depending on the lot size, and 24 condos, 12 of which would be in the city. The project would still include several hundred rental units available in different styles and located on both city and village land.

Alderman Matt Rosek said he was happy that he and others pushed back against the initial plans with so many rentals because the plans as presented Tuesday were much better suited to the city’s goals. He also appreciated moving ground parking to below ground.

“The owner-occupied is a huge part of this for me,” he said. “There is still a lot of work to do here, but the proposal is better.”

He also appreciated how the forested area on the exterior boundary of the project would be kept and walking trails would be added.

Alderwoman Karen Spiegelberg said she appreciated how the developer listened to the council and incorporated their thoughts. She said with how the land is zoned, there is the possibility for industrial and light manufacturing to be built there, which would then be up against residential, should another developer have come forward with plans.

“Moving forward with this is good for the community in many ways,” she said of Tuesday’s plans, adding it would allow the 210 acres to be developed with a master plan in place versus in a piecemeal fashion.

Alderman Matt Mulder said he felt that the development plans are appropriate for the space and wouldn’t generate a lot of traffic congestion.

Concerns were still raised about the number of rental units included in the plans, including from Alderman Kevin Ellis who two weeks ago was a “hard no” on the project. How the project would affect the city’s desired ratio of single-family to multi-family units was also raised as a concern.

Magnus summed up the project on behalf of the aldermen, saying the recommendation would be to keep going, but cautioned that there is “a lot of work ahead to get this council to vote for it.”

While the main hangup with the Harvest at Pabst Farms had been the makeup of the residential component, Tuesday’s presentation also included more information about the retail portion.

Mike Fitzgerald and Scott Satula with Mid-America Real Estate explained how they have collected data and talked with brands about interest in the Oconomowoc project.

“We were pleasantly surprised at how much demand was actually out there. … This really has the opportunity to be one of the larger open-air shopping centers in southeastern Wisconsin, if we can get the right components lined up,” Satula said.

Fitzgerald said the new term for such projects is mixed-life, versus mixed-use, as it strives to offer a variety of retail and dining options for morning, afternoon and evening traffic and appeals to people of different ages and in different stages of life.

There would also be a walkability to the project so that residents can travel by foot to businesses and parks.

Mike Rinka with Rinka+ highlighted how the plans call for 64 acres of public green space. He said the project’s residential units “stand well on their own and knit well together with the other neighborhoods around them.”

Still in the early stages, the city is exploring the idea of creating a satellite library in Pabst Farms that would be unstaffed and occupy about 800 to 1,000 square feet. The city has a 10-year lease agreement with Wingspan for $1 per year.

According to the presentation by Mulder and Rosek during Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, there would be about a $150,000 start-up cost that would be donor funded. The furniture that would be purchased for the space could be repurposed if the satellite library is not a success.

The plan would be for it to have a shared bathroom with a neighboring café that would be similar to Inclusion Café in Hartland and would provide employment and training opportunities for people with special needs, especially those who have just graduated from high school programs and Journey21.

Access to the library would be attained with a library card and it would be monitored with cameras. It would also only be accessible by people 16 years and older.

Mulder said the objective would be to provide convenient access to library services to people living near Interstate 94. He said many Oconomowoc residents living in that area travel to Delafield. Rosek added that they would like to attract more library patrons from neighboring communities like Summit and Dousman, which would increase the Oconomowoc’s circulation, which in turn would increase the funding it receives from the Bridges Library System.