The need for housing in Racine County was recognized, a reputable development company was solidified, and within one year of breaking ground, the construction of five buildings, containing 73 luxury apartments in Union Grove is complete.
On Thursday, September 5, Sawall Development, the Village of Union Grove, Racine County and RCEDC (Racine County Economic Development Corporation) celebrated the grand opening of The Granary Townhomes with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
According to Union Grove Village President, Mike Aimone, this project was a culmination of over 10 years of effort by the Village to prepare the former brownfield for higher value residential and commercial development in the downtown area.
“We expect the new residents will support the new commercial development as well as the existing downtown commercial businesses,” said Aimone.
In 2015, the Village’s Joint Review Board gave approval to a tax-incremental district on the site which once housed the CPI Grain Mill and Village Hall, near Mill Avenue and State Street. Tax-incremental financing provided the Village a means to fund public infrastructure and allowed the new property tax revenue resulting from the construction to pay off the Village loan.
In 2016, Union Grove purchased four parcels of the land from Landmark Cooperative Inc. and another from Racine County, rounding out ownership of the desired amount of property needed to move forward with developer recruitment. Later that year, the Village Board, Plan Commission and Community Development Authority met to review several plans for the site and determined Sawall’s market-rate apartment complex aligned best with the vision of the Village redevelopment plan.
“We see Racine County as a new area ready to explode with economic development,” said Kevin Sawall, Owner of Sawall Development. “When looking at the site, we saw the potential Union Grove had, as it was close to many of the new businesses coming to Racine County, and also had an excellent school system.”
RCEDC has provided economic and community development services to Union Grove. This project was the result of this partnership.
“We’ve enjoyed planning and implementing development and redevelopment projects in Union Grove,” said Jenny Trick, Executive Director at RCEDC. “To see where this project started to where it ended personally brings me an immense amount of pride and appreciation for the partnership with Union Grove leadership.”
The new community will feature a total of 73 mixed units of one-and two-bedroom townhomes with stainless steel appliances, quartz counter tops, and open concept floor plans, as well as attached and detached garages. Sawall is currently accepting applications for available units, which can be found here.
