Franklin, WI officials have granted conditional approval to infrastructure plans for Ballpark Commons, a planned mixed-use development.
The Ballpark Commons project will feature a new 4,000-seat ballpark along with surrounding development that includes amenities such as retail, dining options, a driving range, and more. Officials are still reviewing details behind the proposal, and recently moved forward with conditionally approving infrastructure plans for the project.
Prior to the Franklin Common Council’s January 9 vote, residents of Greendale–which borders the project site–expressed concerns about some aspects of the Ballpark Commons proposal. Residents and officials from Greendale specifically brought up worries about traffic and environment impact, but Franklin officials believed that the findings of a state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) report adequately addressed some of those fears. More from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The DNR report put to rest the concern about digging the pond clipping the toe of the landfill, said Franklin City Engineer Glen Morrow.
The DNR concluded the pond is far enough from the landfill mass, based on the testing the environmental consultant did, he said. The city also reviewed those test results and came to the same conclusion, he said.
“It’s very important to make sure we don’t cause any environmental contamination,” he said.
“Their environmental consultant has done a lot of test pits and borings that tell them where the landfill material is,” along with providing other information, Morrow said.
As of September, it was estimated that construction on the Ballpark Commons development could begin in the spring of 2018, with the new ballpark potentially opening in 2019.
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