The development team of General Capital Group and Joseph Development was before the Historic Preservation Commission to request a certificate of appropriateness which would allow them to demolish a portion of the Hide House complex, a former tannery at 2625 S. Greeley St. in Bay View.

On Monday July 20th, General Capital will go before the Historic Preservation Commission and request permission to demolish a portion of the Hide House complex. This demolition would allow for the construction of a 60-unit affordable housing apartment building.

Saving and restoring historic buildings is vital to any city. The mixture of styles, ages, heights, and character helps to create an interesting vibrant urban environment. Further, it is useful to have a mix of buildings with differing ages, because this allows for a variety of rental prices which allows new businesses to grow in old buildings. Unfortunately, these goals and ideals are far too often not why historic designation of buildings is implemented in Milwaukee.

Historic preservation is a good thing, when for example it is used to restore City Hall or re-purpose the Grain Exchange because it adds value to Milwaukee. Unfortunately, when in the name of historic preservation “creative lawyering” is used to save a high priced view or a surface parking lot, it isn’t such a good thing. These are just two of examples of how historic preservation laws have been distorted in attempts to stop development projects instead of saving historic structures. I believe that the spirit of historic preservation regulations are to save significant structures when possible and to encourage their adaptive re-use so these buildings can be enjoyed long in to the future.

New Land Enterprises’ development of the Goll Mansion property, located at 1550 N. Prospect Avenue, has been in the works since 2005 when New Land Enterprises purchased the property. The current plan is to build a 27-story 35-unit condominium building that would utilize the historic Goll Mansion as the lobby of the condominium building. This plan would add $60 million to the City of Milwaukee’s tax base, enhance the skyline, bring new residents to the city and save the Goll Mansion.