Rockwell Village: Wrong Project, Wrong time. Wrong Market.
Sarcasm Shooter set to Kill: One thing that will certainly fix our ailing economy is the long-overdue approval of high-end condominium project aimed at giving the very rich a place to hide away while they rehabilitate their credit report.
Enter the Rockwell Village. City leaders approved Jan 6 plans to create 36 condos, two levels of enclosed parking and "niche" retail space on the corner of St. Paul and Pleasent Street in Oconomowoc’s Downtown.
Developer Rob Perry, paraphrased by the Oconomowoc Focus, said that a major catalyst for forging ahead with the project was that, thanks to the ailing economy, he can build it far more cheaply than he ever dreamed. We’re willing to bet that had the reporter looked into Perry’s eyes at that moment, she’d probably have seen actual dollar signs.
Giving people more and better places to live in Oconomowoc is great. We think that increasing and improving Oconomowoc’s retail and residential capacity in ways that take advantage the city’s numerous natural amenities is a laudable goal.
But doing it in a way that is simply inaccessible to the majority of the population is not smart. If the recent adventures in retail disappointment at Pabst Farms have taught us anything, it’s that Oconomowoc is not the tie and tuxedo community that it thinks it is. Oconomowoc is not a Bloomingdale’s town– and that’s evidenced by Bloomingdale’s continued refusal to build a store here. Even the mighty Starbucks has chortled at the idea of building a coffee shop in Oconomowocs downtown. The $6 latte set don’t work, live, or play here.
Building developments that continue to try to cater to a market that just doesn’t exist in Oconomowoc are not going bring people to Ocnomomwoc’s downtown.
Build something blue collar, Oconomowoc. Come on now.
(Tip o’ the hat to our buddy MC Pickard for the link.)
