Egg Harbor luxury condominium/retail development to hold groundbreaking, open house
EGG HARBOR - After more than two years of planning, groundbreaking is set to take place on a mixed-use retail/condominium development in the village, and the public is invited to attend.
Developers said Village View Shoppes & Residences will help fill a need for upscale residences in downtown Egg Harbor while also preserving a building of historical significance to the village.
The Oct. 29 groundbreaking event will include an open house at which guests can watch a video depicting what the condos will look like when finished. Construction is scheduled to start in November, with the condos and shops expected to open no later than fall 2022.
When completed, the three-story development will have two ground-level retail shops and 14 residential units in its second and third levels with views of the nearby Green Bay harbor.
Tom Martin, director of sales for Village View and one of four partners in the development, said eight of the condos are three-bedroom units with 1,800 square feet of floor space and the other six have two bedrooms with 1,400 square feet. Amenities include large decks looking out over the village, an indoor heated garage with space for condo residents and a fitness center on the lower level.
Martin said he and his partners (Bob Wolter, Michael Schwantes and Mike DeCleene, all with Creative Business Services/CBS-Global in Green Bay) were attracted by the possibility of residential development downtown.
"We just think there'll be a need for residential condos in the heart of Egg Harbor," Martin said. "They're close to the marina, close to stores and restaurants, they'll be convenient for people to walk and bike around the village."
The site of the development is the property that formerly held Mueller's Mini Mart.
The stone structure that housed the convenience store was built by Herman Birnschein in 1923 and became his Point Beach Service Station eight years later. Birnschein operated there until the Mueller family bought it in 1968 to open their Mueller Bros. Standard gas station and repair shop. The Muellers then built a smaller station next door in 1988 and opened their mini-mart in 2001, continuing to run it until co-founder and owner Bob Mueller died in January 2020, while renting the stone building to a variety of shops.
The property was for sale before Mueller died, and the developers first proposed a plan for the site to the village's Plan Commission in January 2020 that also would have been a three-story building. However, it was much larger than the current plan, calling for five retail spaces and 27 residential units along with the county's first climate-controlled underground parking and a rooftop deck.
Size and zoning issues raised by the village board saw the plan scaled back to its current specifications, with the rooftop deck eliminated along with the underground garage that no longer would be cost-efficient for the reduced number of residential units.
Another issue raised by the village was the fate of the stone building. Upon village request, the final plan preserves and renovates the now 98-year-old structure, which will be separate and continue to be used for retail, while maintaining the idea of incorporating its stone design into the lower level of the main building.
"We like our history," Village President John Heller said about the effort to maintain the Birnschein building. "Preserving it is obviously one of our priorities."
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After approval by the plan commission and village board, the developers closed on the sale of the property last December and hoped to start construction this spring, but Martin said his group needed to sell 50% of the proposed spaces before they could move ahead with the project. He said both retail spaces, which are 1,500 square feet each, are now spoken for, as well as six of the condos. A gift shop will move into one retail space and a women's apparel store will occupy the other.
Heller said he believes the new development will be beneficial to Egg Harbor, echoing Martin in his support for luxury residences becoming available in the middle of the community.
"We're delighted something is being done with that parcel of property," village President John Heller said. "It adds to the vibrancy of the village. … Adding to our retail is desirable, but having residential expansion downtown is very desirable to me."
FYI
The public is invited to a groundbreaking ceremony and open house from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29 for Village View Shoppes & Residences, 7784 State 42, Egg Harbor. The event is followed by an open house. Appetizers and beverages will be served. For more information, visit villageviewcondo.com.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.