The City of Waukesha’s Redevelopment Authority has approved a preliminary plan to raze the UW-Waukesha campus buildings and turn the property into a residential neighborhood when the campus closes permanently after the current school year ends in May 2025. The residential development is projected to be a $200 million project comprised of approximately 400 housing units, including a mix of single-family homes and apartment buildings. Construction may begin in 2025.

After the Universities of Wisconsin announced in March that the campus would be closing due to persistently low enrollment, which reached only 600 students this year, local government began working to determine how to redevelop the campus when it becomes vacant. The City of Waukesha and Waukesha County are collaborating on the redevelopment plan because the property and buildings reside within city limits but are owned by the county. 

Waukesha County commissioned a months-long study by consultant VJS Construction to determine the best future use of the 75-acre property. The consultant’s report was reviewed at Monday’s meeting of the City Redevelopment Authority.

According to city officials, the county’s priorities for the property’s future are to ensure new development is compatible with the adjacent properties, generate long-term tax revenue and realize short-term revenue from the property sale. 

The VJS report noted that the campus buildings are well maintained, but the idea of redeveloping one or more of them for K-12 school use became untenable due to the exorbitant cost required to convert the property. The biggest obstacle is the central HVAC system, which currently supports all of the buildings and would need to be rebuilt if some buildings were removed. It was determined that the least costly alternative would be to demolish the buildings and start over.

The possibility of converting the property to parks or city facilities was dismissed due to the presence of other large parks nearby and the size of the property, which would be too large for the city’s operating budget to sustain it.

Since the adjoining properties are nearly all residential, the Redevelopment Authority agreed that a residential development makes the most sense. The mix of residential buildings would be dependent on proposals received by developers, which are anticipated in the first quarter of 2025, and they could include other options such as senior living or two-family homes, if this makes sense for the property layout. 

The Redevelopment Authority noted that the target for the single-family housing would be families with household incomes in the $100,000/year range, where the city’s housing shortage is most acute. The apartments and other housing units would also be targeted to ease the housing shortage.  

There will certainly be opportunities for public input on the UW-Waukesha campus redevelopment in the coming months as the project advances. Interested neighbors should stay in touch with their elected representatives and plan to attend public meetings to ensure their questions are answered.