Sister Bay Gets First Look at Aquatics Facility Plan

Renderings of an aquatics facility proposed along Highway 57 in Sister Bay. Source: Village of Sister Bay.

If all goes according to plan, an aquatics facility could come to Sister Bay in the near future. 

The village’s Plan Commision got its first look at a proposal from Rachel Stollenwerk at Tuesday’s meeting. The Fish Creek resident, who owns Edge of Park Bike Rentals with her husband Dan, hopes to build a facility that would include two 16’ by 16’ endless pools for swim lessons for children and training for older children and adults. The building would also house a sauna, private shower spaces, bathrooms, changing rooms and a viewing room. It would be located on a parcel of land on Highway 57 between the Kitschinn and the Sister Bay Inn.

Stollenwerk currently provides swim lessons to children by using pools at various hotels in the area. She described her plan as phase I of a larger buildout.

“This first phase is smaller square footage to help us get started,” she said. “I already do a lot of training for athletes and children at other locations. Initially this is a way to consolidate those services. The next phases are to grow to expand my services.”

Stollenwerk said the facility would primarily serve resident families and seasonal families. Future phases in her plan include a splash pad, outdoor pool, an indoor pool and playground. The timing of those portions of the plan will depend on financing, she said.

The plan was met with enthusiasm from the commission. 

“This is the first first building presented to the plan commission in a really long time that I liked,” said Chair Denise Bhirdo.

Stollenwerk will return to the commission for a formal review in the coming months once lighting, landscaping, stormwater plans and driveway location are solidified. 

After reviewing the plan, the commission recommended that the Board of Trustees approve a resolution in support of Stollenwerks’s application for a Community Development Investment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for $250,000 to support the project. The village would provide grant-writing assistance but not financial investment in the project.