City of Sheboygan to buy Town of Wilson farmland for $1.5 million
WKTS News first reported on the development in May
TOWN OF WILSON — City officials are moving forward with plans to buy 74-acres of farmland in the Town of Wilson.
WKTS News was the first to report on May 29th that the City of Sheboygan was considering purchasing the Thimmig Farm. The large swath of land is south of Stahl Road, east of Moenning Road and north of Lake Aire Drive, and Deerpath Trail. The first step towards purchasing the land will take place Monday evening at City Hall. The Finance and Personnel Committee will meet to discuss the proposal.
The city intends to offer $1,488,600 to Linda and Gary Thimmig for the 74.43-acre property. That amounts to $20,000 per acre. The transaction is expected to close on or before September 1st. According to City Administrator Casey Bradley, the offer to purchase is contingent upon final approval by the Common Council.
If the city is successful in purchasing the farmland, the next step would be annexing the land into the city limits. WKTS News reached out to several officials for comment. Mayor Ryan Sorenson did not respond to request for comment and Town Chairman Matthew Fore refused to comment. Erik Thelen, Chairman of the Town Plan Commission, referred us to Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission. The city is actively working with Bay-Lake on updating their 20-year Comprehensive Plan.1
RELATED: City of Sheboygan considers buying 74-acres of land in Town of Wilson
Per Wisconsin State Statutes, municipalities are required to update their comprehensive plan every 10 years. The City of Sheboygan last updated their plan in December 2011, which means the city’s plan has been out of date since 2021.2 Land acquisition is closely tied to the city’s Comprehensive Plan because the plan serves as a long-term guide for growth, development, and infrastructure. By identifying future needs, the plan allows the municipality to proactively acquire land before prices rise or opportunities are lost.
No updates about the It is expected the city’s Comprehensive Plan will be updated and adopted by the end of the year. Phase 1 started last year with a presentation at the City Plan Commission and a bicycle ride with Mayor Sorenson. Phase 2 started in January and wraps up at the end of this month with Phase 3 starting in July. According to the project timeline, public engagement and an open house is planned but neither has occurred so far this year.
Just to the north on Stahl Road is the 195-acre Gartman Subdivision. That farmland was purchased by the City of Sheboygan from the Gartman Family for $3.6 million in 2022. In the past, Mayor Sorenson said he hopes to bring low-income housing to the area. According to documents filed with the city, the subdivision could have as many as 11 separate apartment buildings, each with 63-units.
On the city’s far north side, Cedar Grove-based Postuma Homes is planning a new subdivision on land north of Rolling Meadows Drive. While most of the land is located in the City of Sheboygan, part of the land is within the Town of Sheboygan limits. According to Postuma, single family homes are planned and construction would start next year. Part of the land in the town would be annexed into the city.
City grows by annexation
Farmland in the Town of Sheboygan and Town of Wilson has historically been acquired for Sheboygan’s growth.
A chunk of the Bollmann Farm on Union Avenue was sold to a Michigan developer in 1973 and annexed from the Town of Sheboygan into the City of Sheboygan in 1974. The 31-acres was part of a $5.5 million project which called for 620 apartment units. Ever since then, the city had sought for years to acquire the remaining farmland at Union Avenue and Georgia Avenue, and extends south to Paine Avenue. Today, the active farm, completed with cows, is owned by Richard Bollmann.
In 1974, 10-acres was annexed from the Town of Sheboygan at the southeast corner of South Business Drive and Wilson Avenue where a $1.4 million Piggly Wiggly store would open in 1989. Across the street, the 62-acres that makes up today’s Washington Square Shopping Center was annexed from the town by the city in 1955.
In 1987, the Hayssen Family Foundation donated 106-acres of farmland at the southwest corner of County Road Y and Playbird Road to the city. It was slated for future development as an industrial park according to Robert Peterson, the city's former Director of Planning & Development. Mayor Richard Schneider made it clear that annexation of the land was going to be pursued. It would be 27 years later when the city would get around to annexing the land.
However, the William A. Hayssen Industrial Park was never built. When the city finally decided to annex the land in 2014, the Town of Sheboygan sued the city to block efforts to annex the land. The town was successful and as a result, the ownership of the land reverted back to the Hayssen Family Foundation. In 2024, proposals to develop the land were unsuccessful and rejected by the Town Board after residents voiced opposition to the construction of apartment buildings.
In 1988, the city annexed land from the Town of Sheboygan on the Taylor Drive Beltline that would be developed into the Taylor Heights Shopping Center and Sheboygan's first Walmart store. The city also annexed 208-acres from the Town of Sheboygan north of the Pigeon River. The city’s largest land grab attempt failed that year when they tried to annex nearly 800-acres along Highway 42 all the way to the Town of Mosel border.
Also in 1988, the Common Council authorized the annexation of 694-acres in the Town of Wilson between Interstate 43 and South Business Drive for construction of the Sheboygan Business Center. Today, the industrial park is home to Nemak’s Gateway Drive Plant. Further to the east, parts of the Sunnyside Neighborhood and the Sommer Subdivision was annexed into the city, for a total of 202 acres.
In 1994, the city annexed 59.16-acres from the Town of Wilson south of Weeden Creek between South Business Drive and Moenning Road. In 1997, a developer received city approval to build the 90-unit Amanda Lane Apartments and construction began the following year. Work on the Fox Meadows Subdivision also began that year on land owned by the Rammer Family.
In 2005, Werner Homes began planning the Stonebrook Crossing Subdivision on farmland they purchased from the Rammer Family between South Business Drive and Moenning Road. At the time, the company planned to build 120 single family homes. However, construction of the subdivision did not begin until 15 years later in 2020.
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Sources
City of Sheboygan Comprehensive Plan
Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission
Sheboygan Comprehensive Plan Adopted 2011
sheboyganwi.gov