A 30,000-square-foot Ascension clinic is coming to Mequon, but the mayor is among those who isn’t happy about it – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This rendering shows Ascension's nearly 30,000-square-foot clinic from North Port Washington Road.(Photo: Submitted)

A split Mequon Common Council approved a rezoning request Oct. 13 that will clear the way for an Ascension healthcare clinic.

The council voted, 6-2, in favor of the rezoning after divisive discourse among residents and council members.

Ascension Columbia St. Mary's new 29,892-square-foot clinic will go at the northwest corner of Port Washington and Highland roads.

The roughly $12.5 million project includes a joint application with Mequon Medical, Project 4 Services and Catalyst Partners.

The approval allows for 3.93 acres of the 40-acre parcel to be rezoned from single-family to neighborhood commercial.

Those who opposed the request cited the buildings size, traffic concerns, potential subdivision flooding and architectural differences between the proposed property and nearby homes.

Im very concerned about the issues residents raised, but frankly its not even the residential areas, said Mayor John Wirth. Its the long-term plan for our city that we should be most concerned about.

Wirth opposed the request and said he rarely votes against development proposals because they often visually align with their respective industrial and residential areas.

He said he doesnt want Mequon to become one of these communities that has lots of nice, new, shiny buildings that would replace its green fields and rural aesthetic. He said the addition of too many office and retail buildings could create blighted areas because we built too much.

Those who supported the rezoning mentioned Mequons aging population, employment opportunities and tax revenue benefits.

An enterprise such as this would bring stability into the market, reliable tax revenue, jobs, economic tax revenue for the long term, said Dr. Gretchen Jameson during the meeting.

John Ford, of Catalyst Partners, said the clinic will staff up to 70 full-time workers and pay roughly $150,000 in annual taxes.

Wirth said hes in favor of theclinic being built, but opposes its size and location without a concurrent commitment on the rest of the property. He said decisions should be made on future planning because if they were to make decisions based solely on tax revenue, they should have put in a Walmart a long time ago.

Alderman Mark Gierl, who supported the approval, said the building will act as a buffer for residents. He said it will dampen noise from surrounding business and the I-43 expansion.

Im going to say to the residents,be careful what you wish for because I think this would be an ideal thing to have on that corner the way they have that planned out, said Gierl. Something else is going to come to that corner. Its zonedcommercial, and I dont think you're going to find something like this again.

In a memorandum, Wirth said thebuilding is unnecessary fornearby residential neighborhoods. He saidit'sbeing built to draw people from all of Mequon and nearby communities, but his support was ultimately lost due to the building's size.

I pledged when I ran for this position to do what I can to invigorate Mequons existing commercial areas, Wirth said in thememorandum. Adding large scale commercial uses to other areas does not do that. There is a limit to how much commercial development a city with our population can absorb, and Mequon has limited population growth.

Eddie Morales can be reached at 414-223-5366 or eddie.morales@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @emoralesnews.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/mequon/2020/10/20/mequon-council-approves-ascension-clinic-rezoning/5986858002/

Read the rest here:
A 30,000-square-foot Ascension clinic is coming to Mequon, but the mayor is among those who isn't happy about it - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel