It appears talks on a developer’s plans for an apartment complex in downtown Janesville have cooled off heading into the holiday weekend.
This week, the city’s plan commission recommended the city council NOT declare a half-acre parking lot off North Parker Drive “surplus” to sell or convey to Bear Development so the Kenosha developer could build more than 70 units of affordable housing there.
Plan Commission Chairwoman Kathy Voskuil told dozens of people who attended the plan commission meeting that the city council was slated to take up the commission’s recommendation to make a final decision on the North Parker surplus property proposal.
An agenda for Tuesday’s post-Memorial Day city council meeting shows the North Parker item now is not slated for discussion.
At a local service organization meeting Wednesday, City Manager Kevin Lahner spoke as a guest. He mentioned the Bear Development proposal would not be on Tuesday’s city council agenda. Lahner did not indicate at that time whether Bear is still pursuing the North Parker Drive site after the plan commission’s recommendation against it.
Bear’s plan has raised controversy, with some downtown business operators who worry affordable housing on North Parker could hurt downtown’s retail economy.
City officials have defended the plan, saying Bear seeks to build apartments with price points that mesh with the “average” paycheck earner in Janesville.
Big Radio has has reached out to Bear Development for comment, and Big Radio has filed an open records request with the city seeking documents detailing a decision to leave Bear’s proposal off Tuesday’s agenda.
The city of Janesville fulfilled a separate request by Big Radio this week, providing previously unpublished contact information for appointed city committee and commission members.
