Demolition Starting At Northridge Mall

Former Boston Store at Northridge Mall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The first major piece of the former Northridge Mall has a date with a wrecking ball.

“Exterior, structural demolition of the city-owned Boston Store at the former Northridge Mall is expected to begin as early as Wednesday,” said the Department of City Development in a statement.

Contractor HM Brandt will mechanically demolish the two-story, 153,000-square-foot structure, 7700 W. Brown Deer Rd.

Destruction of the rest of the mall, a 900,000-square-foot structure, is expected to follow later this year. The Boston Store structure is attached to the southeast side of the mall.

The combined, 58-acre property is to be redeveloped. A final plan has not been crafted, but prior area plans and charettes suggested mixed-use development or light industrial development.

The city, following a nearly five-year legal battle, took ownership of the vacant mall in January via property tax foreclosure from the China-based U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group. But it has owned the former Boston Store structure since 2017.

Penszey’s Spices owner Bill Penzey purchased the Boston Store property for $250,000 in 2013 and attempted to acquire the rest of the mall for a corporate headquarters and warehouse. But Black Spruce paid off a delinquent utility bill in 2014, blocking a foreclosure auction. After failing to acquire the remainder of the property, Penszey donated the property to the city.

After filing a raze order on the mall itself in 2019, the city began inching forward on preparing the Boston Store building for demolition.

Asbestos was removed from the interior of the structure in 2021. In March 2023, a request-for-proposals to demolish the Boston Store structure was issued, while the court case was ongoing for the rest of the complex.

The mall, located near N. 76th Street and W. Brown Deer Road, closed in 2003 after 31 years of operation. A predecessor of Black Spruce acquired the property for $6 million in 2008. It proposed creating an Asian marketplace, but those plans never advanced.

Boston Store closed alongside the rest of the mall, but Value City Furniture occupied a portion of the property until March 2009.

A raze permit filed by HM Brandt estimates the cost of leveling the structure at $395,261.

A $15 million grant, via the State of Wisconsin‘s American Rescue Plan Act grant, is expected to pay for the cost of demolition. Demolition is expected to cost $9 million, according to the mayor’s office, and site preparation work is expected to cost $4 million. The state grant will also cover some of the security costs.

In court against Black Spruce, the city has frequently argued that the mall became a public nuisance under the group’s ownership because of frequent break-ins and repeated fires. In November, the Milwaukee Fire Department said it found evidence of several recent fires at the complex, which does not have active electrical or gas service. The department was called to respond to seven fires in 15 months, but reported finding evidence of at least six more.

A Menard’s store and self-storage facility, built after the mall’s closure and not part of the city’s holdings, are to remain.

August 2022 Photos

April 2019 Photos

Property Map

Map of ownership of area around Northridge Mall. Image prepared by Department of City Development.