Milwaukee Business Journal | Teddy Nykiel | November 7, 2023

Construction is underway on a large-scale housing development near Kenosha that’s designed to feel like a subdivision for renters.

Illinois-based Stoneleigh Companies LLC is behind the development known as Savannah at Pike Creek, which will have 338 units upon completion. The first units are scheduled to open on April 1, 2024, Stoneleigh Companies founder and CEO Rick Cavenaugh said.

The project will bring more of what’s considered build-to-rent housing to Kenosha County, offering more options in an area where there’s a housing shortage.

“This is an interesting housing option that really hasn’t been done very much in Wisconsin,” Cavenaugh said. “It’s a different living environment than living in a regular apartment community or living in a subdivision and renting a house.”

Savannah at Pike Creek will be on around 65 acres on the northwest corner of Green Bay Road and 18th Street in the village of Somers. The first phase is slated to include 190 units and a clubhouse with amenities, and the second phase will have 148 units.

The single-story units will each have an attached two-car garage, designed to make them feel like single-family homes. The back of the homes will have walkable outdoor space and recreation areas, Cavenaugh said.

There will be four to eight units per building with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Rental rates are expected to range from $1,700 to $2,800 per month, Cavenaugh said.

Construction on the first phase began in June and is expected to be completed in 2025. Work on second phase would follow after that, Cavenaugh said.

Stoneleigh Companies is financing the project through investor equity and with a construction loan that’s expected to close within the next week or two, Cavenaugh said.

Based in Barrington, Illinois, Stoneleigh Companies is a developer, owner and operator of apartment projects nationwide. The firm’s property management affiliate is Waterford Residential LLC.

Aside from a project Cavenaugh did in the 1980s in Brown Deer, this is the firm’s first project in Wisconsin. The company was drawn to Kenosha due to the area’s economic growth, he said.

“The one thing that is the primary driver for apartment demand is job growth,” Cavenaugh said. “When you look at (Interstate 94), Microsoft and all the other things that are going on in Kenosha County and Racine County, you just sense that there is a tremendous amount of new job growth that’s happening up in Wisconsin.”

Stoneleigh Companies is working on two other similar “Savannah” housing developments in Michigan and Iowa.

For potential future apartment projects in Wisconsin, the company has looked at sites in Madison and west of Milwaukee, Cavenaugh said. However, he intends to see how the new “Savannah” product line does before accelerating growth, he said.