Brewers Buy Two-Acre Scrap Metal Site Near Ballpark
Team will use the property for "storage."
600 S. 44th St. (highlighted). Image from City of Milwaukee land management system.
While a ballpark subsidy remains a hot topic of debate for legislators in Madison, the Milwaukee Brewers are expanding the organization’s property holdings back in Milwaukee.
An affiliate of the team purchased the National Salvage property for $2.1 million according to state real estate transfer records. A spokesperson for the team said the site would be used for storage, but didn’t provide additional information.
The oddly-shaped 1.8-acre property, 600 S. 44th St., includes two buildings used by the scrap metal recycling company that total approximately 15,000 square feet.
It sits between the former Komatsu Mining factory and the Ganter parking lot. The site is immediately east of on-off ramps serving Miller Park Way and Canal Street. American Family Field is located to the northwest.
Unlike the rest of the ballpark complex, which is owned by the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, the Brewers purchased the National Salvage site directly.
A vacant sliver of land to the west of the scrap metal site is owned by the ballpark district. The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee owns the property, 3711 W. Canal St., that borders the east and south sides of the site. The Hank Aaron State Trail is to the south.
The team purchased the property from John F. Stimac, Jr. Its unusual shape can be traced to the curving presence of the Menomonee River and the Milwaukee Road rail lines that once paralleled it.
The property is assessed for $535,800.
On the opposite side of the sprawling parking lots, the Brewers use a series of lots along S. 44th Court near the Stadium Interchange for storage.
Photos
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More about the Miller Park Stadium Tax
- Governor Signs Brewers Subsidy Agreement At American Family Field - Evan Casey - Dec 5th, 2023
- Gov. Evers Signs Bills to Keep Milwaukee Brewers, Major League Baseball in Wisconsin Through 2050 - Gov. Tony Evers - Dec 5th, 2023
- Council, Mayor Bickered On Brewers Deal - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 29th, 2023
- Brewers Stadium Deal Passes the Legislature - Shawn Johnson - Nov 14th, 2023
- County Executive David Crowley’s Statement on Bipartisan Bill to Keep Brewers in Milwaukee - County Executive David Crowley - Nov 14th, 2023
- Gov. Evers to Sign Bipartisan Plan to Keep Milwaukee Brewers, Major League Baseball in Wisconsin Through 2050 - Gov. Tony Evers - Nov 14th, 2023
- A swing, a miss, and an errant bat in the stands - State Sen. Chris Larson - Nov 14th, 2023
- Supervisor Burgelis Responds to State Senate Vote on Brewers Stadium Funding - Sup. Peter Burgelis - Nov 14th, 2023
- Murphy’s Law: Civic Blackmail Works For Brewers Again - Bruce Murphy - Nov 14th, 2023
- Senator Agard Statement: Legislation to Keep the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin Passes State Senate - State Sen. Melissa Agard, Senate Democratic Leader - Nov 14th, 2023
Read more about Miller Park Stadium Tax here
Seemingly innocuous story, but again, this highlights how public money being spent on stadium ‘repairs’ disproportionately benefits the team owners. How? The public financing portion garners no equity to the public in return. But, having public money fund ‘repairs’ frees up capital for the team to purchase a hard asset: land.