For decades, the lure of Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva has attracted thousands of visitors from Chicago and its suburbs to enjoy the spring-fed lake, scenic golf courses and numerous resorts. It is a city whose economy is driven by tourism.
Throughout the last decade, Lake Geneva’s downtown has had a flourishing hotel and condominium market, as projects like The Cove and the recently completed Meridien on Lake Geneva have sold out even before construction was completed. Housing within and close to the city continues to cater to a transient market.
But, outside the business district, the residential landscape is changing. According to developers working within the 576 square miles of Walworth County, there are signs suggesting the area is becoming more a place of permanent residence than a weekend getaway spot.
Two engines seem to be powering this slow but steady movement: overhaul and expansion of the school system, and growth in the number of industrial parks and employment opportunities in the area.
Steve Beers, vice president of Keefe Real Estate Inc., a company controlling at least 50 percent of the area market, says the reputation of the county’s schools and their expansion initiatives are a major draw to the area.
“The permanent market is driven by a growing belief in Walworth County and across the Illinois border regarding the quality of life,” Beers said. “The feeling is we’re less preoccupied with certain issues; it’s more laid back. And the schools are perceived as better in some respects than those in Illinois.”
Smaller classrooms and more personalization, Beers notes, are two ways of depicting area schools. Lake Geneva’s Badger High School has been enlarged, and a new junior high school is on the way. Nearby Williams Bay has a newly opened junior high/high school, and in Fontana, there’s been an addition to the elementary school.
In 1998, Walworth’s Big Foot High School received approval for $12 million worth of expansion. Delavan is adding to Delavan-Darien High School, and to the north, the same is true at Elkhorn High School. Southeast of Lake Geneva, Genoa City is breaking ground for a new elementary school, and the list goes on.
“Our history of referendums here is good,” Beers says. “The people who live here realize this (education) is something important and they support it.”
And housing projects seem to follow. In 1995, Barrington-area builder John Tracy brought the Tracy Group to Genoa City, where three new subdivisions will be completed within approximately seven years.
Tracy’s Genoa Trails began with 62 duplex units that sold out two years ago, largely to Illinois residents. The second was the Ridgeview Farms subdivision, which had 77 home sites with 16 home styles.
The third and final subdivision, Hunter’s Ridge, is expected to sell out by 2001. The 115-acre parcel is expected to include 200 single-family and 150 multifamily homes.
Like Ridgeview, 16 single-family home styles will be offered, ranging from the Carlyle, a split-level with two bedrooms, one bath, and 1,120 square feet, to the Regency, a four bedroom two-story with 2 1/2 baths and 1,540 square feet.
Prices at Hunter’s Ridge range from just under $101,000 to $125,900–well below the Chicago-area market.
Beers says it’s important to remember a large number of residents still make only $7 to $14 per hour at factory jobs, and average less than $50,000 annual income.
But, many of the area homes fall into price points far beyond that. It begs the question: Where are developers finding buyers?
Pat Moore, president of Midwest Construction and Real Estate and developer of Edgewood Hills, a new subdivision within Lake Geneva, believes the area’s employment profile explains much of the market that falls within the $180,000 to $250,000 range.
“I believe with a lot of these new industrial parks, there are opportunities for people to migrate to Lake Geneva and the Walworth County area. There’s an increased traffic of qualified buyers and a visibility feature,” Moore said.
“It’s true there are lots of people making hourly wages that couldn’t buy homes in the $200,000 price range. But as the area becomes more industrialized, there are more mid- to upper-level management people looking for homes to buy in the area.”
Edgewood Hills features 49 lots, a half-acre or larger, including 14 heavily wooded hillside lots. Moore says 24 lots or homes have sold so far and that he expects build-out in three more years.
Homes will have three and four bedrooms, in mixed styles, with 2,100 to 2,500 square feet of space. Prices are expected to range from $185,000 and $270,000.
“We’re using brick and siding exteriors and a lot of different style homes,” Moore said. “We’re not into `standard stock’ subdivisions. This will be an upper-middle-class, move-up market.”
Edgewood Hills follows the hugely popular Baywood Heights subdivision located just behind the new school in Williams Bay. A few of the 98 lots remain, but the homes there, priced at $150,000 to $225,000, sold out fairly quickly.
“It was kind of a surprise for our area,” Beers said. “The absorption rate in our county is very low, compared to the Chicago market.”
Frank Bielinski, president of Bielinski Development Co. who is building Harvest Point in Elkhorn, believes the lower absorption rate is no accident.
“I think county officials aren’t interested in rampant development. They want progress,” Bielinski said. “I think the word for it is `controlled’ steady growth.”
Harvest Point will have 90 single-family homes, 136 condominium units, 150 rental apartments and 20 acres of neighborhood commercial property. Single-family homes will be 1,200 to 2,000 square feet with base prices from $110,000 to $190,000.
“There are one- and two-story and tri-level homes with brick and siding exteriors,” Bielinski said. “We’ll have three and four bedrooms, first- or second-floor masters, basements included, with oak trim and vinyl floors. There’s something for the moderate, move-up and upper-end buyer.”
The issue of slow absorption throughout the Lake Geneva area may be somewhat tied to what local residents can afford. But Matt Miller, principal broker for the Oak Knolls subdivision, tucked just inside the Wisconsin border in Walworth, says that to understand the growth rate requires looking at the make-up of the county board.
“There are three strong economies in this area,” Miller says. “You’ve got a manufacturing, farm and tourism base. A large portion of the agricultural base is located in Walworth, and a lot of the 40 guys who sit on the county board or board townships have a farm-based attitude. Many are farmers themselves, and they protect the land.”
The Oak Knolls project is expected to sell out in the next two to three years. Currently 70 percent of lots or homes have been sold. The two primary builders on site, Schauder and Basso Builders, are constructing ranch, two-story, bi-level and tri-level homes base-priced between $120,000 and $180,000.
Rauland Agency sales associate Mary Beth Bromfield reports that two-thirds of the 94 lots have been sold out.
Many of the homes are 1,400 to 1,500 square feet and come with three bedrooms, two baths, two-car garages, vaulted ceilings, fireplaces, central air and basements.
Bromfield says lots alone sell for $25,000 to $45,000 and that buyers may bring in their own builders, so long as the homes fit the developer’s parameters.
Beyond the single-family homes, there are a number of active apartment, town home, and condominium projects throughout southern Walworth County. Like the single-families, there are options at every price point.
In Williams Bay, the newest development is Bayside Pointe, a 72-unit condominium project that began in 1997. To date, 32 of the units have been sold.
Sales manager Joel Reyenga says 75 percent of the market he’s seen comes from Chicago, with half the buyers making Bayside their permanent residence, the other half vacation property.
Four floor plans ranging from 1,100 to 1,650 square feet are offered. Homes include two and three bedrooms, two baths and private patios and decks. The entry-level Ashbury starts at $129,900, while the largest Dorchester model lists for $159,500. Reyenga expects build-out by 2002, selling 12 to 14 units a year.
Just outside the city of Lake Geneva near U.S. Highway 12 are the Ridges of Geneva East, an apartment project, and The Oaks Townhomes, both offered by Keefe Realty.
The Ridges offers six styles of apartment units, beginning with the Oakwood (1,000 square feet, two bedrooms, one bath), to the Geneva (1,180 square feet, with two bedrooms, two baths, deck and den). Beers said rents average about $650 to $700 a month.
The Oaks Townhomes will eventually offer 50 units with a choice of four models, priced from $95,000 to $150,000. Models range from 1,200 to 1,600 square feet.
One large parcel of property near Lake Geneva that boasts great potential but remains somewhat dormant is Geneva National, which of late has been characterized more as a resale market than one that is expanding with new products.
Beers said that the only active new market is the Lakeview Terrace Townhomes. Two models, the Geneva and the Zurich, each offer three bedrooms, two-car garages, master suites, and great rooms with 20-foot ceilings.
The Geneva has 2,780 square feet, 2 1/2 baths, and an optional guesthouse and screened-in porch. The Zurich offers 2,487 square feet, 3 1/2 baths, and optional screened-in porch. Prices start around $275,000.
While the growth and absorption rate in Wisconsin will likely never match that of Illinois, the recent market has been strong and the future appears steady. Keefe’s sales were up 75 percent in 1998, the best in the last 25 years.
“I think the combination of low interest rates and general consumer confidence are the reasons for the increase,” Beers said.
Many believe the distance between Chicago and Wisconsin will shrink with the proposed expansion of Metra lines; others say Lake Geneva and Walworth County have become a mid-point for couples whose work is split between Milwaukee and Chicago.
Regardless of how short the distance between any two points becomes, experts say controlled density will continue to characterize the cities and towns in Walworth County.
“There are figures from last year that showed about 12 percent growth,” Miller said. “We’re not looking for something to have a rapid impact. The biggest issue for the Wisconsin Land Council–and I’m on it–is the comprehensive planning and how we want to define or deal with set growth. We want to control our density and the quality of what we do.”
