Apartments planned at Ballpark Commons in Franklin proceeding with Mandel Group as the developer

Plans for apartments at the Ballpark Commons mixed-use project in Franklin are moving forward with the selection of a developer.

Mandel Group Inc. plans to develop 265 units in five three-story buildings at Ballpark Commons, north of West Loomis Road and west of South 76th Street.

And that would create more property tax revenue to help pay for additional city funds being sought to help finance Ballpark Commons.

The high-end apartments will be known as Velo Village, according to the announcement from Mandel Group and Roc Ventures LLC, which is overseeing Ballpark Commons.

Velo Village will include underground parking, as well as a club room, fitness facility, swimming pool, outdoor lounge area and dog park.

“Velo” is the French word for bike. Velo Village will be next to the Oak Leaf Trail and near a Wheel and Sprocket bike shop that opens this spring. 

Mandel's project will be bigger than what Roc Ventures had initially expected at Ballpark Commons. 

Those earlier plans called for 212 apartments, in addition to 139 units for older people being developed by New Perspective Senior Living LLC.

Ballpark Commons is centered on a 4,000-seat ballpark.

Known as Routine Field, it will host the Milwaukee Milkmen, a professional baseball team that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The stadium also will host the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team.

Ballpark Commons will include Luxe Golf Bays, two attached restaurants, a sports performance center and an office and retail building that includes Wheel and Sprocket.

Routine Field and other first phase buildings will begin opening this spring.

Meanwhile, Franklin officials are still considering Roc Ventures' request for additional city financing help for Ballpark Commons.

The Common Council so far has approved $22.5 million in city cash to help finance Ballpark Commons.

The Journal Sentinel in December reported that Roc Ventures, led by Mike Zimmerman, is seeking another $5.2 million from the city.

That money is needed because of increases in unforeseen development costs,  Zimmerman said.

A city study has estimated Ballpark Commons would have property values totaling $101.2 million by 2021 if it is fully developed.

The new property taxes generated by Ballpark Commons are to pay back the city's funds by 2034, the study said.

Zimmerman's firm wants to add another property to the tax incremental financing district at Ballpark Commons.

Development on that site, as well as plans to increase the size of some of Ballpark Commons' buildings, would generate more property tax revenue to cover the increased costs.

A consulting firm hired by the city to consider Roc's request for more money hasn't yet issued its report, Mark Luberda, city administrator, said Monday.

"All the pieces are still being worked on," Luberda said.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.