Staying power

Oneida County watches tourism evolve into residency

By Jennifer Pfaff

A Rynders Development Co. Inc. building crew takes a moment to confer during the construction of Lakeview Condominiums in Minocqua. Photo courtesy of Rynders Development Co. Inc.

Already a bastion of summer tourism, Oneida County is discovering a new side of itself as vacation rentals give way to full-time ownership.

The town of Minocqua, with its lakeside downtown and access to the Minocqua Chain of Lakes, is used to seeing a burst of activity when the weather turns warm. But lately, lovers of the Northwoods are less content with short-term rentals. They want permanent, lush homes to either live in year-round or to serve as counterpart to their Florida winter condominiums, said Jim Rein Jr. of Minocqua-based Wilderness Surveying Inc.

“The transient market is no longer here,” he said. “The major business here is full-time residency.”

Lakeview Condominiums, owned and constructed by Rynders Development Co. Inc., Minocqua, exemplifies the new trend. From the demise of a long-time Minocqua motel is rising an 18-unit condominium building offering lakeside living in three stories.

The motel was torn down this spring, and construction of the new structure is expected to be complete by November, said Mark Hartzheim, marketing director and principal broker for Rynders.

Lakeview offers six units per floor, each with a view of Minocqua Lake and a patio or deck from which to enjoy the vista.

Most buyers for the project are coming from 200 miles away or farther, Hartzheim said. They hail from Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago and other large cities.

The $400,000 to $675,000 units are all being sold for full-time ownership, although the owners will be allowed to rent their units out for no less than 30 days at a time if they desire, he said.

Although the condominium building will occupy about the same square footage as the motel, the developers are hailing the site for the dramatic improvements they expect in reducing the amount of runoff entering the lake, said Rein, agent for the project.

It’s a concern that recent state regulations have made high priority through Chapter NR 151, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ rules on runoff management. On the Lakeview site, parking has been tucked into a heated underground lot, greatly reducing the amount of impervious surface.

“We removed an old boathouse, and we’re tearing out a large portion of the lawn and replacing it with shrubs and trees so we have a natural buffer area,” Rein said. Two sedimentation basins will catch runoff that the natural area can’t.

“It’s turned the runoff problem around,” he said.

In addition, Rynders added plantings and a sprinkler system to improve a neighboring town parking lot.

The new attention to runoff is changing the face of condominium building in the county, pushing units farther off the water. Although that at first might seem a deterrent to buyers, the move often places the condominiums up a slope and makes the views far superior, Rein said.

He’s seen this effect at Lakeside Condominiums, a development in the town of Lake Tomahawk.

Site owner and developer Jerry Solem is leading a redevelopment effort turning a former marina into a 21-unit condominium complex.

The entire property had to be graded to route water to the back of the parcel. In the end, 85 percent to 90 percent of the 3-acre site’s runoff will stay on site, rather than coursing into Tomahawk Lake.

“NR 151 has changed the way building takes place in Oneida County,” Rein said. “It’s a good thing for the lakes up here.”

It isn’t just the views that improve with the new rules, he said. The larger setbacks allow homeowners more lawn and more opportunities for creative and attractive landscaping.