When the news broke about the Shoppes at Wyndham Village having financial difficulties, to the point of possible foreclosure, an old friend and reader posted a remark on Franklin Today's Facebook Wall:
Funny this is exactly what we told the Mayor would happen in the talks before they granted (Mark Carstensen Construction) free reign of the (Civic Center). If only they would have listened and put the Target down by the Fountains, we would have one good Shopping center rather than two on the edge! If only the leaders would listen to all the people and not just the ones with big wallets!!
Another reader sent me an e-mail:
Maybe someone should have listened to us when we told Carstensen that it was a stupid place to build a shopping center, or maybe we should stop giving Mark whatever he wants in the city of Franklin, before he ruins something else.
Back when this project was first proposed, I was a community blogger for FranklinNOW.com, and covered the project extensively. It was to the point where other bloggers mocked it, or would say things along the lines of those residents opposing the project were simply "enviromentalists" or "elitists". Reality was, residents of Franklin were originally told of a grand retail project that would have a village atmosphere on land that city documents label as part of the "Civic Center District".
Why is that big? Well, Franklin and "civic" don't mingle very well. The only things "civicly" minded in our community are City Hall and the library, along with of course our parks, schools and fire/police stations. We don't have strong community attractions and amenities, examples being a performing arts center, community/senior center, or even decent athletic facilities for our extremely talented youth. Furthermore, we also don't have a strong civic district full of local businesses and restaurants combined with community amenities. For examples of that, look at Greendale's Broad Street or Wauwatosa's State Street. All the above are things residents here have been wishing and asking for from their leaders and developers. So when projects are promoted the way Wyndham Village was, the people originally rallied behind it.
But as the concept turned into reality, many things began to change.
The quaintness vanished and morphed from a civic-minded format and became home of big boxes and outlot buildings in a development one typically sees adjoining freeway offramps.
What did the Common Council in 2007 do? Nothing. It took an entire summer of hammering the issue, launching a community petition, and residents uniting to get the Plan Commission to convince Target Corporation to just modify their building's facade from an ugly version currently on display in Oak Creek to the one people see today. Other than that, nothing else was encouraged or supported, and the Council back then "rubber-stamped" the project forward.
What transpired over the years and now seems to have ended with this project was a municipal government more than eager to support a hometown developer's wish, even if that included making some bad choices. Wyndham Village is, by no means, what people label as a "civic center". It is disconnected from the very "civic" buildings the so-called district is trying to promote. Residents warned of this happening and tried to convince their elected officials to seek higher standards and truly get a "civic" project off the ground in this area, the people's "civic center district". Those elected officials, one of whom now running to take back his seat after being knocked off in 2008, ignored those people and went along with the blah and boring strip mall environment we see today.
Wyndham Village did not generate the attraction needed to retain retailers and restaurants due to how generic the whole project truly is. People don't feel the itch to drive miles upon miles to a shopping center that resembles what likely is right down the block from where they live. Without uniqueness, along with another crucial element to be discussed later this week, it was doomed to fail.
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