“Ready for Business”: More Progress on the Bucyrus Campus Redevelopment

In case you missed the Business Journal story on this Sunday night, there is continued progress on the redevelopment of the Bucyrus campus downtown, south of Rawson Avenue. Some highlights referenced in article — available here behind a paywall — and some not …

• Reich Brothers now has full control of the property, after buying out Caterpillar’s existing lease. This is significant, as it allows them to fully market and lease the various parts of the site without any influence from Caterpillar. The lease, “added another layer of complexity to any effort to bring new companies into the property,” according to the story. “They were great to work with,” Reich said. “We both wanted the same thing.”
• “Reich said work has begun to rehab the property’s buildings for new tenants. That work will include new paint, lighting, doors and roofs, and preparing interiors for future tenant renovations.” Said Reich: “We’re off and running, and the site is ready for business.”
• The end result? Reich “will transform it into a more traditional, urban business park with offices and manufacturing space for multiple companies,” according to the story. “City officials are working with Reich to design new public infrastructure to weave the campus into the surrounding city street grid and open it to the general public.”
• The Dickman Company Inc. is marketing the site.
• According to the story: “Reich and South Milwaukee officials also plan to change the city streets and sidewalks around the Bucyrus property. As a one-company campus, it was closed off to the surrounding public streets. South Milwaukee and Reich Brothers are splitting the cost of designing new roads and utilities to open it back up so multiple companies can move in, Brooks said. ‘In a lot of ways, the campus won’t feel like a fortress anymore.’”
• The formation of Tax Incremental District No. 5 will help in the revitalization effort, and with infrastructure investment. And not mentioned in the article are other potential sources of funds the city continues to explore, including funds available through the site’s Economic Opportunity Zone status, as well as new market tax credits.
• And Reich also now has ownership of the large parking lot at 12th and Milwaukee Avenue, as part of the lease agreement. They are required, through negotiations with the city, to make it available for public parking on nights and weekends. More details to come on that.

In other words, progress is real in the redevelopment of the Bucyrus campus, even as Caterpillar continues to produce equipment north of Rawson. There will be much more to come in 2019.

Indeed, the campus, and South Milwaukee, are open for business.