MEQUON, Wis. — The Mequon Common Council has adopted a 30-year master plan to transform its quiet civic campus into a vibrant community hub known as Mequon Commons.
After more than a year of work, the city approved the master plan this month. It is estimated to cost more than $20 million over a decade of work. The centerpiece of the campus will be a new plaza and amphitheater, along with an updated playground and pool.
The first of three phases will focus on remaking the pool during the first three years of the project. The plan primarily focuses on revamping outdoor space, while leaving existing buildings like City Hall and the Frank L. Weyenberg Library unaffected.
WATCH: Mequon residents share excitement over approved plans for new 'Mequon Commons'
For almost two decades, Mequon has encouraged outside development using a Tax Increment Financing district around and including the civic campus. In recent years, the city has added coffee shops, restaurants, the Mequon Public Market, and a variety of new housing developments to the neighborhood, significantly increasing its tax base in the process.
"The civic campus, the library, our adjacency to Thiensville, really made it ripe conditions to do a more neighborhood design," Kim Tollefson said. "It something that creates identity and gathering for the community."
Tollefson, the director of community development, has been with the city throughout the development push.
Many neighbors are optimistic about the changes and the addition of a downtown feel. The new plan aims to give Mequon a gathering space, akin to Cedarburg, Port Washington and Thiensville.
"I love all the different parks and things like that that we have access to for the kids," neighbor Theresa Chimenti said. "To know that there's some place where they can attend events, as they get older, that is close to home, is great."
Kelly Rydlewicz, another Mequon neighbor, is looking forward to the updates.
"We plan to be long-term residents, so anything to reinvent the area," Rydlewicz said. "Especially excited to do something to the playground because we have little kids, but yeah, we're on board."
The plans do not come without debate. Last year, baseball fans expressed frustration because the new plaza necessitated relocating Rennicke Field, the city's historical baseball diamond.
The city contracted consultants to help with the process and gather community input. Several concept plans were reviewed since the process started in late 2024. The final plan approved by the Common Council can be viewed here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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