Posted: March 18, 2009 |(0) Comments

Jewish Family Services will build a 66-unit apartment complex in Brown Deer for residents 60 and older.

The Brown Deer Village Board on March 16 unanimously approved a plan for the construction of Deerwood Crossing, which will be built on a formerly village-owned parcel at Bradley Road, Teutonia Avenue and Sherman Boulevard.

State approval still is needed for the project, but that is considered a formality; the state must approve all commercial buildings.

Construction on phase one of the project is set to begin in May. The building could be finished by early summer or late fall 2010, the developers said.

Board members said they were pleased with the plan, which was conceptually approved in December 2007.

The complex will include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, including some with rent subsidized through Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority tax credits. Unsubsidized rents are expected to vary from $435 for a studio apartment to $635 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,000 for a two-bedroom unit. With credits, rents could range from about $340 to $820, depending on the resident's income.

Deerwood Crossing will be an independent-living complex, with the ability for residents to transition into some assisted-living services, if necessary, developers said. Residents with mild dementia might be allowed, but no patients with Alzheimer's disease will live in the building, as had previously been discussed.

Board members originally had concerns about the profile of the three-story building and the amount of brick that would be incorporated into the design. Architectural adjustments addressed both problems.

The board's approval officially turned one lot of the municipally owned parcel over to Jewish Family Services. However, the village will maintain ownership of an abutting strip of land, which primarily borders Teutonia Avenue. There is no obligation for the village to sell that land to Jewish Family Services, should the organization seek to buy it.

Developers said they have invested about $400,000 in the project so far, and 55 people have joined a waiting list for the property. Since those would-be residents signed on without any marketing, developers felt confident they could fill the new building.

No commitments have been made for project expansion; the current economic climate seems to have tabled some of those plans. But developers hope to see the project through its four conceptual phases, which would include another 30 to 36 residential units and a stand-alone senior center.