Census finds big growth in exurbs

Oconomowoc, others post large estimated gains

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 21, 2006

By AMY RINARD
arinard@journalsentinel.com

Oconomowoc - As a large new shopping mall project is announced and the state's largest health care system pushes its plans for a regional hospital here, new population statistics confirm that this city is among the fastest-growing communities in Waukesha County.

As metropolitan growth pushes west along I-94, new census figures show the city's population grew by 10.7% from the time the 2000 census was completed and July 1, 2005.

The number of people living in Oconomowoc grew by 1,329 from 12,382 to 13,711 during that time.

The village and city of Pewaukee, generally along and north of I-94, also were among the fastest-growing communities in the county, with their populations growing 9.2% and 8.4% respectively, from 2000 to July 1, 2005. That city grew by 986 people and the village by 748.

As expected, the biggest percentage growth since 2000 in the Census Bureau population estimates was found in two villages, one in the northeast and the other in the southwest part of the county.

Sussex grew by 11.1%, adding 984 residents during this period, while the Village of Mukwonago grew a chart-topping 11.3%, adding 695 new residents.

But Oconomowoc has more recently seen development reach its doorstep. Mayor Maury Sullivan said Tuesday that eight to 10 residential subdivisions are being built in his city, including the 1,500-acre Pabst Farms.

And the city has recently received petitions from developers to annex 400 acres for new subdivisions.

Pabst Farms, at I-94 and Highway 67, is the site of a proposed 1 million-square-foot open air retail center announced last week by General Growth Properties Inc. And Aurora Health Care has said the growing population of far western Waukesha County is the reason it wants to build a new hospital near the I-94/Highway 67 interchange.

"I think Oconomowoc has to some extent a unique story midway between Milwaukee and Madison right on the interstate and with nice geographic features like lakes," said Sullivan.

"The city is increasingly becoming known for growth, and there are people who are attracted to that."

He said if the city were more isolated and not along I-94 - and without the two major state highways, Highways 16 and 67, which run through it - there could be quite a different growth dynamic.

Mike Herro, who grew up in Oconomowoc and is a real estate agent and developer in the area, said new residents are attracted to the city by its natural beauty and easy access to the interstate.

At his request, the city recently annexed 70 acres from the Town of Oconomowoc that is set to become the third and fourth phases of the Weston Meadows subdivision. Phase one started last year, and phase two is in construction.

Herro said he recently showed a house to a couple, originally from Wisconsin, who are moving from Kansas City to Oconomowoc to retire. They like the slower pace of the city, he said, as well as the outdoor recreational opportunities and easy access to cultural activities in Madison and Milwaukee.

That couple is typical of the people moving to Oconomowoc, he said.

"These are the people who want to move here - they love the outdoors and want to be able to hop on the interstate to go to work or wherever," said Herro.

"There's a small-town feel here, even though the city is growing," he said.

But both Sullivan and Herro said they believe the rate of the city's growth will slow somewhat as the nation's economy slows down.

"I see growth continuing but not at the rate some of these developers are hoping. The general economic conditions are not as favorable as some developers think," Herro said.

Sullivan said the growth of the city's population may slow in absolute numbers but it won't stop.

"I don't think we're at the end of the growth period at all," he said.