Michels’ Taxes Will Pay For Skate Park, Street Paving, Public Art

507 W. Rogers St. parking lot and River One. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The increased property tax revenue from infrastructure contractor Michels Corp’s River One complex will pay for a series of public improvements near the Harbor District development.

A tax incremental financing (TIF) district that encompasses the mixed-use development will be used to pay for a new skate park in the Lincoln Village neighborhood, repaving a collection of streets within a half mile of the development and additional public art under a nearby freeway overpass.

The skate park would be developed on a city-owned parking lot at 507 W. Rogers St., across Interstate 43/94 from River One. The project was initiated by area alderman and Common Council President José G. Pérez said Department of City Development economic development specialist Alyssa Remington on Thursday to the board of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee.

The city considers the lot underutilized. The Department of Public Works, through its MKE Plays program, would own and maintain the park. The proposed TIF amendment sets aside $1 million for the project. No design work has taken place.

“This will be a collaborative process,” said Remington. “We are going to hear the needs of the community, the voice of the community, and take all of that into consideration.”

The amendment also includes $1.2 million for repaving or reconstructing portions of S. 6th, S. 5th, W. Rogers and W. Maple streets. Remington said Pérez helped identify the streets targeted for improvement. A $500,000 contingency allocation is also proposed to cover overages associated with either skate park or street projects.

The proposal, which requires Common Council review, also includes $52,000 to sponsor the artistic painting of 12 freeway pillars near the Becher Street overpass. A Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District project has added environmentally-friendly infrastructure under the elevated freeway and, now, nonprofit CORE El Centro is working with artist Juan Flores. The murals, which build on an earlier project, are expected to contain designs that encourage drivers to slow down.

The amendment also includes $100,000 for administration costs.

River One is generating approximately $2.6 million annually in incremental property tax revenue. Following the amendment, the district is expected to pay off its debt in the 2026 assessment year.

“This is the first amendment. I can’t say there won’t be more in the future,” said Remington in addressing a question from a board member. State law allows incremental revenue from TIF districts to pay for public infrastructure within a half mile of their boundaries.

The TIF district, officially “TID #94 – 1st and Becher,” is assessed for $152.9 million according to its 2022 annual report. Before the development the property was assessed for $5.4 million and was used for a brewpub and storage.

The initial allocation from the district was $7.1 million for the riverwalk, an environmental cleanup and improvements to the nearby segment of W. Becher Street, which now includes a rebuilt roadway and protected bicycle lane.

About River One

River One (stylized as R1VER) includes an eight-story office building anchored by Michels and the Tribute Apartments, a 95-unit building.

Located on a six-acre site at S. 1st and W. Becher streets, there are at least two remaining development spaces remaining. The foundation for a hotel in front of the office building was already constructed as part of developing the site-spanning parking structure.

The Bridgewater Modern Grill restaurant is located on the first floor of the apartment building, overlooking the Kinnickinnic River.

Michels, in 2018, was originally to receive a $1 million cash grant from the TIF district in exchange for creating 250 jobs in the office building. But with that came the legislatively-triggered mandate that the entire project’s construction be subject to a 40% hiring requirement for unemployed or underemployed city residents and that 25% of the contracts by dollar value be assigned to city-certified, disadvantaged Small Business Enterprises. Michels decided to forgo the grant.

The development is owned by an affiliate of the Michels family, which includes company vice president and recent Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels.

Michels is headquartered in Brownsville, located just outside of Fond du Lac. The company, which has thousands of employees across the country, said it was building the Milwaukee office to house its then-new civil infrastructure division and to recruit candidates for skilled positions  “People that, quite frankly, are easier to recruit in Milwaukee than other places,” said chief legal officer David Stegeman in September 2018.

Since developing the complex, which opened during the pandemic, the company has also developed a home for its marine division on a nearby site in the port.

Photos and TIF District Boundaries