South Milwaukee Council Weighs In On Two Multi-Family Housing Developments

The future of two multi-family housing developments got a bit clearer Tuesday night, as the South Milwaukee City Council weighed in on a 36-unit building proposed for 10th and Madison Avenues and a 24-unit townhouse development proposed for 9th and Menomonee.

Here is where we netted out on the two developments, both of which were planned for city-owned land in our tax incremental financing districts.

• 10th and Madison. The City Council voted 8-0 to reject the project. It was a tough choice, but I voted no for several reasons. Most significantly, I was uncomfortable with the prospect of providing up to $635,000 in city financing — in the form of a $380,000 interest-free loan and $235,000 in additional tax incremental financing assistance — to Horizon Development, which had called for 83% of the 36 units to be affordable, available to working people at certain income levels or the disabled. The others would be rented at market rates. I was also hesitant to not take the recommendation of our Plan Commission, which weighed in strongly against the development at its meeting last week over a variety of issues, from density to parking to lack of green space.
• 9th and Menomonee. The City Council voted 8-0 to refer this project, called The Mosaic, to the Plan Commission. This is a $5 million project proposed by the Vanguard Group and planned for the former home of the Lawson Airplane Company and the Continental Faience and Tile Company, just north of the Heritage Reserve condominiums. Half of town homes would be deemed affordable, while the other units would be at market rates. Vanguard is seeing $1 million in city TIF assistance — after removing the estimated $400,000 purchase price they would pay the city.

I’ll keep you posted on The Mosaic, which, like the Madison development, is also seeking funding from Milwaukee County and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.