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The Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee recommended the $34.6 million plan on a 4-1 vote. If approved by the full council Tuesday, the city Redevelopment Authority will buy 84 acres by December, and spend three years demolishing buildings, cleaning up pollution and building streets. Parcels will be sold to manufacturers and other businesses beginning in 2013.
The site is bordered roughly by W. Capitol Drive, the Soo Line railroad tracks, W. Townsend St. and N. 27th St.
Most of the land would be redeveloped into a 58-acre business park similar to the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center, which the city created at a former rail yard east of Miller Park. Other uses include 17 acres for retail businesses along Capitol Drive, and 5 acres for about 80 housing units along Hopkins St.
Buildings within the business park would total about 800,000 square feet and could attract companies with 700 to 1,000 jobs, according to Department of City Development estimates.
The project's costs are high, with $9 million to come through state and federal grants and tax credits.
Of the $25.6 million in city funds, $15.6 million would be repaid through property taxes generated by development at the site and improvements in the surrounding neighborhood, and by selling parcels in the business park, city development officials said. That payback would take an estimated 26 years.
The Tower proposal is much riskier than most city financing plans for development, Comptroller W. Martin Morics said in a report, because it requires a large amount of spending three to four years before development can occur. It's also difficult to predict environmental cleanup costs.
By doing nothing, however, the properties and nearby neighborhood will continue to decline, Morics' report said.
It's "probably worse to do nothing," Morics told committee members.
Ald. Tony Zielinski voted against the proposal, saying the city should take a less risky approach of demolishing the Tower buildings and performing environmental cleanup work in stages, as developers come forward with specific proposals.
"I'm all for jobs," Zielinski said. "But I'm for realistic jobs, not idealistic jobs."
Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux said the entire site needs to be redeveloped before any businesses would be interested in locating there.
Jobs at the site, situated in one of Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods, would help fight crime and other social ills, said Marcoux and other project supporters, including the Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Coalition and Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope.
The Menomonee Valley business park, financed with $3 million in state and federal grants and $15.3 million in city funds, lacked specific development plans before construction started, said Ald. Michael Murphy. Businesses there now employ a total of about 700 employees.
"You have to take some risk once in a while if you want to take a step forward," Murphy said.
Development officials have acknowledged the Tower site will be more challenging than the Valley site, mainly because it's much further away from the interstate.
The Tower project's costs include $3.5 million to buy the land from a group led by demolition contractor Jerry Blomberg, and $1 million to relocate storage operations, scrap yards and other businesses that employ about 20 people. Estimated demolition costs total $11.9 million, with $6.3 million for environmental cleanup and $4.4 million for new streets and other public improvements.
Other costs include a contingency fund and such costs as legal and marketing expenses, totaling $4.3 million.
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