A new kind of rental neighborhood is taking shape in the Village of Germantown, and it doesn't look anything like a typical apartment complex.
Horizon Construction is serving as general contractor for The Carillon at Germantown, a 36-unit residential community developed by Cirrus. According to Horizon's project page, the job broke ground in October 2026. It's made up of 11 single-story triplex and quadplex buildings totaling 64,855 square feet, all wood-frame construction. Horizon, which has offices in Madison, says this is its second partnership with Cirrus.
Where it is
There was some question about exactly where this one is, since Wisconsin has more than one Germantown. Village records settle it: this is the Village of Germantown, the Milwaukee-area suburb. The Village of Germantown's list of 2026 approved projects shows Daniel Hasbani of Cirrus Property Group, acting as agent for property owner Faith Lutheran Church, applied for a site plan for "a 36 unit multifamily development called Carillon at Germantown" at W172N11187 Division Road. The village's Plan Commission approved it on June 8.
Earlier, on Feb. 2, the Village Board voted 6-3 to rezone about 5.4 acres of the church property from institutional zoning to a planned development district for the project and approved the related land division. Board members Warren, Cutts, Borst, Pieper, R. Miller and Soderberg voted yes. Baum, J. Miller and Kaminski voted no. The site plan approval followed about four months later. Horizon's page lists the job as under construction, with no completion date posted yet.
What's going up
The project narrative Cirrus filed with the village fills in the picture. The site is about 5.39 acres, the southern part of Faith Lutheran Church's 10.4-acre parcel, which includes a vacant parsonage. The land sits in what the village calls the Lannon-Mequon Corridor, and the rezoning created a detailed planned development district with RM-2 multifamily zoning as its base. That works out to about 6.68 units per acre, under the 10-per-acre limit for the area.
The homes are market-rate rentals with two or three bedrooms, open floor plans and the main bedroom on the ground floor. Every three-bedroom unit gets a two-car attached garage. The two-bedroom units come with either a one- or two-car garage. Cirrus counted 108 parking spaces in all, three per unit.
The buildings will sit along a private U-shaped drive with two connections to Division Road: one full access and one right-in, right-out only. A traffic study by Traffic Analysis & Design, dated Oct. 8, 2025, was filed with the plan, and two retention basins will handle stormwater.
Single-story living with an attached garage is aimed squarely at folks who want to downsize without giving up a driveway and a door of their own. Think empty nesters who are done with stairs and done mowing a big lawn.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a different kind of job from a four-story apartment building, and that's good news for a lot of smaller trades.
Eleven separate single-story buildings means a lot of repeat work: foundations, wall framing and roofing on every building, then siding, windows and garage doors. Wood-frame construction at this scale suits residential framing crews and the subs who usually work on houses, not just the big commercial outfits. Each unit needs its own kitchen, baths, mechanicals and finishes, so plumbers, electricians, HVAC installers, drywall hangers and flooring installers will each be counting dozens of units.
The site work isn't small either. A private loop drive, two curb cuts on Division Road, parking for 108 vehicles and two retention basins add up to a solid package for excavators, paving crews and utility contractors.
Since Horizon is the general contractor on record, trade contractors looking to get on this project should reach out to Horizon directly. The company keeps a subcontractor page on its website.
Keep an eye on this model, too. Single-story rental homes with attached garages are showing up in more suburbs, and a village board approving one on surplus church land is a sign more property owners may consider it. When a congregation is sitting on more ground than it needs, a quiet rental neighborhood like this is one option that can get through a village board, even if only by a 6-3 vote.