Reed Street Yards Site Plan

At the December 13th, 2011  meeting of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, a zoning change and a proposed Development Incentive Zone (DIZ) overlay were approved to allow for future development of the Reed Street Yards.   The 17-acre property, located between South 6th Street and South 3rd Street, is being redevelopment into a water research and development park in a collaborative effort between City of Milwaukee, the property owner Peter Mead, and General Capital Group.  With this approval the property’s zoning will be changed from Industrial Heavy to Industrial Mixed to allow for a greater range of development opportunities.  The DIZ includes the public connections to the river, the new street configuration,  accommodates phasing in the development, and allows standards to be applied that are compatible with the context of the area.  Additionally, the change creates a requirement for approximately 70% building frontage to the street, 40-foot easement along the river, the requirement of pedestrian access points generally no more than 500 feet apart, and does allow for some interim surface parking on the lots south of the extended Pittsburgh Avenue.

This was just another step in the process toward redeveloping the Reed Street Yards.  The property recently received approval for a tax-incremental financing district that will fund the construction of public infrastructure, including the $3.6 million extension of Pittsburgh Ave., new water mains, new sewer connections, 2,700 feet of riverwalk, an extension of the Hank Aaron State Trail, 300 feet of dock wall that is in need of being repaired, and site remediation.

These changes will now go before the full Common Council for approval.

To see renderings of the possibilities for this site, click here.

Water

Much like cities around the world, Milwaukee owes its existence to water.  Access to fresh water allowed it to become the Brew City, fueled its development, and was quite literally why it is located where it is, at the gathering of waters.  This history has given the Milwaukee area a firm foundation in water technology and research that can be applied to water issues facing the world.

The reality that 38,000 children die each week because of the lack of clean drinking water is devastating, but it also speaks to the need for simple affordable clean water technology. The fact that a cotton t-shirt requires 1,514 liters of water to produce, again calls for advanced water technology in this case to make the manufacturing process more efficient, while helping the environment and the bottom line. And knowing that almost half of America’s river and lakes are too polluted for activities like fishing, and swimming calls for improved runoff handling, improved filtration, and enhanced treatment plant operations.

The M7 has recognized this world wide crisis and has been pushing to make Milwaukee into a key player in the water revolution, through its M7 Water Council initiative. The vision, quite simply, is to bring industry, universities, local government, and public policy together, working towards the common goal of providing the research and technology helping to solve the world’s water problems.

Already, there is tangible progress being made on this initiative.  Marquette University has expanded its law curriculum to include water rights legislation, UWM is moving forward on its new School of Freshwater Sciences, the City of Milwaukee has begun working towards turning the Reed Street Yards in to water industry hub, and American Micro Detection Systems Inc. is planning a move to Milwaukee.  These are just a few of the ongoing efforts involved in the M7 Water Council, and hopefully just the start.

Certainly, there are other regions and cities well poised for this opportunity, but why not Milwaukee, Wisconsin?

Another site under consideration is the existing Great Lakes Water Institute on E. Greenfield Ave., but this site is actually the worst of both goals, branding and revitalization.  The area does need revitalization, but there just isn ‘t much of a neighborhood to revitalize as the site is fairly isolated.  Further, the existing Great Lakes Institute is in reality a former tile factory, not a first-class research facility.

While E. Greenfield Ave. is fairly isolated, the Reed Street Yards is located in the center of an area that has seen significant recent redevelopment efforts, and adding the School of Freshwater Sciences to the mix could build upon these efforts.  This area has a supply of office space, such as the recently redeveloped project at 234 W. Florida St., that could be utilized by start-up research firms.  The area also has affordable rental apartments for students and staff to live in.  In terms of collaboration MMSD’s headquarters is located adjacent to the site, and the city has already put forward a plan that would utilize TIF funding not just to build the needed infrastructure, but also includes financial incentives to help land the first water business.  The biggest concern, and possibly the show stopper for this site, is if the boat access is insufficient, but if that challenge can be surmounted this site could be successful.

As I said in a previous article “The re-development of the Reed Street Yards is the next piece of the puzzle to the revitalization of Walker’s Point,” and building the School of Freshwater Sciences here, not only makes sense, but could be what gets this effort rolling.

The 17-acre property known as the Reed Street Yards is located between South 6th Street and South 3rd Street just across from the Harley-Davidson Museum in Walker’s Point.  This property has been targeted by the City of Milwaukee as the potential epicenter of Milwaukee’s water industry.  The property itself, despite being centrally located, has sat vacant for years, and currently has no infrastructure, such as roads and sewers that are necessary to support future development.  At Tuesday’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development meeting the Department of City Development presented a project plan to construct the infrastructure and put in place the pieces need to develop this land.  Rocky Marcoux, Commissioner Department of City Development, laid out the issue quite clearly saying “I’ll never have the opportunity to make the sale, if I don’t have something to sell.”

The file approved at the committee meeting only included the project plan, which will allow the city to lock in the tax base at 2009 levels to create a TIF amount of about $6.42 million.  No expenditure of TIF funds were actually approved at this time, as that will come after further review by the Comptroller.  If approved, about $4.2 million of the TIF funds would be used for public improvements including new roads, water, sewer, 2,700 feet of Riverwalk, an extension of the Hank Aaron State Trail, and 300 feet of dock wall that needs to be repaired.  Additionally, $900,000 would be set aside for a building grant to help the first building in construction of the foundation, and to conduct environmental remediation.  There is also $1 million being set aside for a water research and technology fund to help build out lab space, or simply to recruit firms to the site.  These improvements and incentives give the City of Milwaukee “something to sell,” finally making the site available for development.

The re-development of the Reed Street Yards is the next piece of the puzzle to the revitalization of Walker’s Point, but more importantly it is the first physical effort by the City of Milwaukee to embrace the world water capital vision as laid out by the M7.  At the meeting Alderman Bauman referred to the proposal as “speculative,” and surely there is a level of risk as there is with any project, but it is time for Milwaukee to get serious about becoming the world water capital, and this is a first step.