Affordable Housing Development Comes to Life in Lannon

In August, father and son duo, Art and Kevin Sawall of Sawall Development, broke ground on Rock Pointe Village in Lannon, Wisconsin. The new development will boast nearly 300 town home style apartment units at an affordable rate.

A VISION FOR OPPORTUNITY
While managing developments in Sussex, Art and Kevin noticed that, unfortunately, there were a lot of good, hard-working people who didn’t qualify financially to live in the luxury housing that was available. Instead, many of these residents found themselves renting outdated housing options in surrounding communities.

Determined to provide a new, energy efficient and modern construction alternative, Sawall Development set out to find an affordable housing solution.

“We knew we needed to cut costs in every place possible,” states Art Sawall, President of Sawall Development. “We analyzed everything and pared down our construction costs and finishes. In addition, we looked at easier to maintain finishes that would not have to be replaced as frequently, lowering the overall management cost of the unit.”

After working extensively with the Village of Lannon and other municipal partners, such as the Waukesha County Center for Growth, Rock Pointe Village came to fruition. The first phase of apartments are on track to be available for lease in summer of 2021. Rent for the units will be anywhere from $900 a month for a studio, to $1,500 a month for a two-bedroom.

FATHER & SON DUO
Located in Sussex, Wisconsin, Sawall Development is a family business run by father and son, Art and Kevin Sawall.

Art Sawall, an electrical engineer by trade, started ECT International INC., a software company specializing in electrical CAD software solutions, in 1990. ECT grew rapidly and eventually had offices in Europe, China, Australia and India, with its headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin. After the software business was sold to one of the largest software CAD companies in the world, Art branched off into real estate by pure accident and began Sawall Development.

After receiving his master’s from Xavier University and evaluating opportunities on the west coast, Kevin Sawall decided returning home to the family business was an opportunity he could not pass up. Kevin serves as the Executive Vice President of Sawall Development and specializes in asset management and development operations. His tech business background has given him first-hand experience in managing small global teams and creating efficient management pipelines, as well as collaborative problem-solving.

Today, Sawall Development has projects throughout Southeastern Wisconsin including a variety of multifamily apartment communities, town homes, residential single-family subdivisions and commercial and retail spaces. In the coming year, Art and Kevin hope to continue developing a variety of housing projects, including affordable options in both rural and suburban communities.

“We strongly believe in the three-legged stool concept. A project needs to benefit the municipality, the residents living in the unit, and the developer. Should one of these legs not be equal, the project will ultimately fail,” says Art Sawall.