Freeway razing sets stage for $250 million in development

The Milwaukee Common Council ap-proved a plan on June 15 for redeveloping a mile-long corridor on an edge of downtown where the blighting influence of the Park East Freeway has been eliminated. Demolition of the freeway spur was completed about five months ago, bringing to fruition a longtime goal of John Norquist, who served as Milwaukee’s mayor from 1988 until January of this year, when he resigned to head the Congress for New Urbanism. Where the elevated freeway stood on downtown’s northern edge, a ground-level six-lane boulevard, McKinley Avenue, has been constructed, adorned with trees and flower beds in its median and with granite pavers and more trees between the roadway and the sidewalks. The boulevard provides an attractive new gateway to the downtown and is helping to attract redevelopment activity. “We anticipate at least $250 million of investment,” said Martha Brown, acting commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development. “There’s already great interest from residential, office, mixed-use, and retail developers.” The 16 acres that the freeway occupied and nearly 10 acres along its borders have been knit back together as approximately 28 traditional city blocks. Several streets that the freeway had cut off have been reconnected. A new Knapp Street lift bridge will be completed in August, spanning the Milwaukee River. The city’s RiverWalk, which runs along the river downtown, will be extended into the redevelopment area. Altogether, the redevelopment plan covers 64 acres. Its design guidelines call for a distinctly urban environment, featuring buildings mostly 4 to 10 stories high, landmark buildings up to 20 stories, and rowhouses 3 stories high. The plan “tries to put most of the buildings up to the sidewalk,” said Senior Urban Planner Allison Rozek. “We want a strong street wall.” coding for pedestrian activity On the most active streets, retail and other buildings must use plenty of glass to achieve transparency and visual interest. “There will be a lot of pedestrian activity in this corridor,” Rozek predicted. Four areas totaling about six acres have been designated as urban squares. After the plan’s adoption, developer Barry Mandel pledged the launch of a $100 million project that will replace a large tannery building with 500 condominium units and apartments overlooking the river. That seven-acre endeavor will include retail facing the street. Other developers are expected to build offices, shops, entertainment, and additional housing in the redevelopment area. Peter J. Park, planning director under Norquist and now manager of planning and development for Denver, told a CNU session in Chicago that the project demonstrates “the need to think about transportation and development simultaneously.” The cost of demolishing the freeway, constructing the boule-vard, and building the new bridge was estimated at $25 million, the bulk of it paid for by the federal ISTEA transportation program. Once the project got moving, the city extended the demolition two more blocks to the west. That brought in more land and more than doubled the expected value of real estate development, according to the Department of City Development. It also boosted the city’s portion of the project’s cost to about $15 million. That sum will be recovered through a tax-increment financing (TIF) district in the redevelopment area. Mayor Tom Barrett has requested that the plan’s land-use section be amended to bar new tax-exempt uses in the redevelopment area unless they’re approved by the Redevelopment Authority and the Council. Preventing tax-exempt development would ensure that the TIF district gets as much revenue as possible. Milwaukee County owns 16 of the acres to be developed, and the city owns less than 1 acre. Other land is owned by private owners, who have been in discussions about its development potential. The county and the state governments contributed to the project’s cost. The city controlled the uses and design standards. “It’s been a long process,” said Rozek, noting that the city and the county worked together on the plan and on land disposition. “It took five years from saying publicly it’s something we should do to having a plan approved,” she said. “When dealing with multiple jurisdictions, you have to be patient and take time to bring them all in.” Removal of the freeway is also expected to foster development of sites beyond the redevelopment area, such as Pabst City, a former brewery that is to become a combination of apartments, condo units, offices, retail, and entertainment venues. u