Kohler abandons Deer Park Subdivision
The subdivision was to be built near the Deer Trace Shopping Center
KOHLER — With the need for housing in Sheboygan County, the Kohler Company had proposed building a subdivision west of the Deer Trace Shopping Center.
The little known Deer Park Subdivision was planned in the Town of Wilson on 77-acres of Kohler-owned farm land along Highway 28. The Kohler Company had been working on the plans since 2004. Officials from Kohler Company first presented their plans publicly at a Town of Wilson Plan Commission meeting in 2008, which called for 48 single family homes and 20 condominiums.
While the plans changed a number of times over the years, the Deer Park Subdivision would have remained in the Town of Wilson with a parkway road from Highway 28 to County Road A, just south of the Best Buy store. Some of the proposed street names were Elderberry and Ringneck. Roads were to be paved with Kohler Company factory waste with Village of Kohler-style street lighting.
READ: Development Agreement between Town of Wilson and Kohler Co.
Kohler Company officials had hoped construction would have started before the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. But, the project stalled later that year. "Due to the difficult economic conditions and uncertain housing market, Kohler Company requests additional time in the approval process so that the lots can be put on the market under more favorable conditions," said Scott Anderson, President of Kohler's Hospitality & Real Estate Division. "Lot sales in the local market are stagnant and not improving." Anderson left Kohler just weeks after the PGA Championship was held.
With the development seemingly abandoned, Kohler Company purchased two homes on Highway 28 west of Deer Trace. The first home was purchased in May 2017 for $170,00 and the second in June 2018 for $310,00. With the acquisitions, Kohler Company gained over 5-acres of land. It is possible in the future, Kohler Company could request the Village of Kohler annex the large swath of land — just as it did for Deer Trace. Any possible annexation would mean a tax loss to the Town of Wilson and could increase property taxes to town residents.
The company would end up shifting their focus to The Clearings Subdivision near the Kohler Village Center. Lot sales began in July 2019 and it was the first time in 10 years Kohler Company sold land.
The Kohler Company is one of the largest owners of land in Sheboygan County. It owns land as far south as Community Alliance Church on County Road A and the farm field between Walmart and the Fairfield Inn on South Taylor Drive in the City of Sheboygan. Aurora Medical Center, which opened in June 2022 at Taylor Drive Beltline and Union Avenue, sits on land owned by Kohler Company and leased to Aurora Healthcare. The hospital is located within the village limits of Kohler. Additionally, the Kohler Company purchased the nine-unit Lakeland Condominiums at South Business Drive and Alabama Avenue in Sheboygan for $1.3 million in November 2022.
The Farm Community
Before Deer Trace, it was the Farm Community.
Kohler Company had four publicly known developments planned south of Highway 28, one of which was known as the Farm Community. The first proposal came in 1977 when the Kohler Company released their 50-Year Plan. At the time, Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. envisioned the population of the Village of Kohler would grow to 20,000. Among the plans, a 823-acre Farm Community south of Highway 28 and west of Interstate 43. Along with residential homes, a commercial shopping plaza and a farmers' market were planned for the area.
Two years later in 1979, City of Sheboygan officials grew worried and approved plans for Plaza 8. "If we don't do it downtown, some developer will buy up some land in the Town of Wilson or the Kohler area and build out there," said Laura Brandt, a Sheboygan Alderperson in 1979. "If we sit back and wait, we'll probably lose what we have downtown to a new outskirts development." Plaza 8 in Downtown Sheboygan was built and the Farm Community was ultimately never developed. However, Brandt’s fear was realized when Deer Trace was built some 21 years later.
The proposed development was part of a larger 4,500-acre model village which was to be designed by the Lloyd Wright Foundation. Also under consideration was a Kohler warehouse, which was also never built.
Deer Trace
In 2000, the Village of Kohler annexed 44-acres of Kohler Company-owned land from the Town of Wilson at Highway 28 and County Road A for what would become the Deer Trace Shopping Center.
The 116,000-square-foot Home Depot opened in January 2001 while the 104,000-square-foot Target store opened in March 2004. Other stores that opened included Elder Beerman, TJ Maxx, Dollar Tree, Hallmark and Radio Shack. Chili’s opened in January 2022 and Buffalo Wild Wings opened in December 2014.
Village of West Sheboygan
The area west of Interstate 43 and south of Highway 28 near Deer Trace has been coined the Village West Sheboygan, through no village actually exists. Some in the community have speculated for years that a new village will be created, complete with its own law enforcement, fire protection service and library. Others have believed a racetrack would be constructed for NASCAR sanctioned events. However, the land is largely owned by the Kohler Company and is located within the Town of Wilson.
In 1981, Kohler Company proposed constructing a new industrial park on 90-acres of land south of Weeden Creek Road between the railroad to the east and County Road A to the west. At the time, the company refused to disclose what type of manufacturing was planned for the site. While it was approved by the town, the industrial park was never built. Kohler Company owns a 90,000-square-foot warehouse on Weeden Creek Road which received parking lot improvements that were completed last year.
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