Photo credit: Village of Germantown
The recently completed Gehl Foods Performing Arts Pavilion at Fireman’s Park (W162 N11870 Park Ave.)
Located 33 miles northwest of Milwaukee, the village of Germantown boasts a rich Teutonic history, loads of green space, parks and excellent schools.
Originally a farming community, Germantown was settled as early as 1836. The village was incorporated in 1924. In 1963, Milwaukee County annexed Washington County land for the purpose of building a landfill. “Fearing further annexation by Milwaukee County, the surrounding unincorporated hamlets of Kuhberg, Willow Creek, Meeker Hill, Goldenthal, Rockville, Dheinsville and Germantown decided to merge into one incorporated village, and Germantown was born,” reads the Germantown village website, village.germantown.wi.us.
In 2007, Money Magazine ranked the Washington County village, which has a population of about 20,000 (according to the 2010 U.S. Census), “The 30th Most Appealing Place to Live in the United States.”
“The thing I hear most frequently from Germantown residents is that it’s a great place to raise a family,” said Steven Kreklow, who stepped into the role as village administrator two years ago. The village’s low population density also appeals to residents and people eager to escape the hustle and bustle of urban living. “Personally, I love the size of the village,” said Lynn Grgich, executive director of the Germantown Area Chamber of Commerce, an organization which formed in the early 1980s and a Germantown resident since 1994. “There are no long lines at the grocery store.” Germantown’s convenient freeway access makes for an easy commute to Milwaukee, West Bend and Hartford. “Everything is within 30 minutes,” Grgich added.
Village officials recently signed a contract with an engineering and planning firm, GRAEF, to develop the “2050 Comprehensive Plan.” According to Germantown’s community development director Jeff Retzlaff, 2050 is a one-year project “to address nine required topics or ‘elements’ required under Wisconsin statues, including housing, economic development, land use, transportation, natural, cultural and environmental resources, utilities and community facilities.”
Recently, a community meeting was held at the Germantown library to discuss the plan. “Our goal is to develop sub-area land use plans for a number of areas in the village that will eventually be packaged into the overall comprehensive plan,” Retzlaff explains. Areas for proposed development include historic Main Street, Holy Hill Road and the “Germantown Gateway” or the areas near the I-41 and I-45 interchange.
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Spanning 34 miles, the village is home to 12 parks and contains plenty of undeveloped land for protected green space and housing developments. “In the last five years or so, we have focused on making upgrades to existing parks,” says Mark Schroeder, the village’s director of parks and recreation. The recently completed Gehl Foods Performing Arts Pavilion at Fireman’s Park (W162 N11870 Park Ave.) hosts a variety of events and activities, including summer concerts and a Thursday night beer garden.
‘Continued Growth’ in Business, Housing, Dining
Germantown has experienced a development boom in the manufacturing sector over the past year, with several industrial developments underway. “We have seen continued growth as we move up the I-41 and I-45 corridor,” Grgich says. To help support business developments in the area, Germantown village officials have created five new tax incremental districts (TIFs) within the last five years.
Developed by Zilber Property Group, Gateway Corporate Park (W210 N12800 Gateway Crossing) will include a 750,000-square foot distribution center occupied by Briggs and Stratton. Dielectric Manufacturing, which recently relocated its headquarters from Menomonee Falls, is expected to open a new 198,800-square foot building and 204,400-square foot manufacturing facility in Gateway by 2020. In August, Ryan Companies US, Inc., a company based in Minneapolis, proposed to build a 243,419-square foot industrial building on 26.7 acres of land located in Willow Creek Business Park. Willow Creek, which sits on 192 acres of land between Appleton Avenue and Maple Road, is also home to Discount Ramps, a company which opened a location in the business park earlier this year.
With a median home value of $283,000, according to zillow.com, Germantown offers a variety of housing options, from apartments and townhouses to single-family homes on spacious lots. Several new housing developments, including the Wrenwood and Harvest Hills subdivisions on Freistadt Road and Saxony Village Apartments (N115 W16165 Saxony Village Blvd.), have been built in the last few years. Several more developments are underway. Coupled with highly regarded schools, these new housing developments have drawn young professionals and families to the area. “Developers are finding ways to make housing attractive to younger families,” Kreklow says.
Germantown visitors and residents have several options for dining out. At the end of July, chef Jodi Janisse-Kanzenbach, owner of West Bend’s farm-to-table establishment Café Sourette, opened Precinct Tap + Table (W161 N11629 Church St.). Precinct’s menu includes small plates and artisanal appetizers made with locally sourced ingredients, like bacon-wrapped pickled watermelon rinds and specialty personal pizzas.
Jerry’s Old Town Inn (N116 W15841 Main St.) serves up German and American fare and imported beers in a cozy atmosphere reminiscent of a German beer hall. Robert’s Frozen Custard (N112 W16040 Mequon Road) is Germantown’s premium place to indulge a sweet tooth. The business opened its doors in 2003. Owner Darren Stamm says the village has “a terrific, small town” feel with “very neighborly people.”
Several Germantown schools, including Germantown High School and Kennedy Middle School, have been renovated after the passing of a 2016 referendum. Schroeder believes that the village’s schools “are a real asset to the community.”
The family friendly village embraces its German roots with annual events like MaiFest in spring and Oktoberfest, which will be held Sept. 28 and 29 this year at Dheinsville Historical Park (N128 W18780 Holy Hill Road). These festivals offer plenty of polka, pretzels, performers wearing dirndls and lederhosen and good, old-fashioned gemütlichkeit. Summertime festivals, like “Taste of Home,” organized by the local Kiwanis Club, also draw large crowds.
Schroeder believes that, for a smaller village, Germantown offers many recreational opportunities for all. “We’ve provided a good variety of options for families to choose from,” he says. Grgich encourages people to visit the attractive, affable village. “If you haven’t been through Germantown, it’s worth checking out,” she concludes.
