Sept. 29, 2026 1p
(WGTD)---A proposal to build a new subdivision in Racine—the first in over 30 years—survived blow-back from some members of the Racine School Board Monday night.
Under a deal brokered by the city, the school district would sell the Giese Elementary School site on Byrd Ave for a dollar. The school was demolished several years ago in the district’s downsizing and modernization plan. The district has been unable to sell the the vacant lot.
The city would spend $4 million to build infrastructure and offer down payment assistance. City and school district employees would get first crack at buying the modestly-sized homes.
City officials argue that in order for land-locked Racine to grow redevelopment needs to take place.
School Board member Ally Docksey objected to the district selling the land for a buck. As a Mt. Pleasant resident, Docksey said city growth isn’t something that she's necessarily worried about. "My concern is that a significant portion of the people that support the school district do not live in the city which is explicitly wanting to do this to expand the tax base of the City of Racine," Docksey said. "That's a hard sell."
Board member Ethan Clements argued that a healthy Racine benefits its smaller neighbors. To say that they do not get a benefit I think is ridiculous," he said.
The developer, Steve DeCleene of Neumann Builders, said the dollar sale will allow him to guarantee that he'll be able to fill the site with 34 completed homes within two years, something that he said wouldn’t be possible without the land donation. "This is a difficult business that I'm in," he said. "There's a reason that there has not been a subdivision developed in 30 years in Racine. Because it's not an economically viable business without partnerships. I love this partnership because there's three partners."
DeCleene and other proponents said the school district would benefit because families with children will occupy at least some of the homes, thereby increasing Unified enrollment. But board member Docksey said there’s no guarantee of the number of kids, nor whether they’d attend Unified.
She also took the opportunity to blast the city for taking some negotiating positions in past deals that she said cost the district over $2 million.
The subdivision land sale was eventually approved by the board Monday night on a vote of four to two. Two school board members who double as alderpersons abstained because of the obvious conflict of interest.
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