Council Retreats On For-Profit College

Opponents of Arizona College of Nursing hold up signs in the council committee room. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

With the threat of a lawsuit hanging over the City of Milwaukee, the Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee dropped its opposition Tuesday to a polarizing for-profit nursing college.

Arizona College of Nursing (AZCN) wants to open its first Wisconsin location at the Honey Creek Corporate Center, a four-building office complex near Interstate 94 and S. 84th Street. However, a group of opponents, primarily education advocates and labor unions, is opposing the school’s entry into Milwaukee.

In March, the committee held up a zoning change for AZCN, while the City Plan Commission recommended outright denial. But after a closed session meeting Tuesday, the committee endorsed the zoning change and said the proper venue for opposition was at the state level.

“We are here to consider a very, very, very narrow set of criteria for the minor modification,” said committee chair Ald. Jonathan Brostoff of the zoning change. He said issues about the school were best heard elsewhere. “The place to discuss that will be at the state, where they license and regulate those kind of institutions.”

On its face, the zoning change appears to address a prior bureaucratic mistake. Two colleges previously leased the same space in the building, 9000 W. Chester St., but the city is requiring property owner Greywolf Partners to secure a zoning change to add “college” to the list of permitted uses in the complex’s special zoning district. But that hasn’t meant straightforward approval.

The Department of City Development recommends approving the change. “Ultimately, based on the guidance we have received from the City Attorney’s Office, our staff recommendation was limited to the specific land use impacts and planning impacts of permitting a college as a permitted use as the Honey Creek Corporate Center,” said city planning manager Sam Leichtling. That recommendation has been held consistently through two elected city attorneys and two deputy city attorneys assigned to the matter.

Greywolf CEO Joe Wagner said a recent loan refinancing was completed based on the fact that a building permit had already been issued for AZCN. “Without this tenant in place, we are looking at the very real situation of having to default on the loan,” he said.

Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin president and CEO Tracy Johnson said the AZCN lease was a boost for the overall struggling office market and the city shouldn’t set a precedent of meddling in leases. “The office real estate market in southeastern Wisconsin is still recovering from COVID-19,” said Johnson. “This city cannot be viewed as selectively approving tenants.”

But opponents said the council has a duty to protect city residents. “The Arizona College of Nursing is a predatory college,” said retired Milwaukee Area Technical College professor Michael Rosen. He referenced the school being placed on probation by the State of Arizona and a lawsuit by students. He said education leaders had previously argued against allowing the for-profit Everest College and Art Institute of Wisconsin into Milwaukee. “What happened with those? They went belly up, leaving thousands of students in this community deeply in debt and without work.”

Rosen previously filed a complaint about AZCN with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, but it was rejected because the school does not currently operate in the state and Rosen isn’t a student. “We have pursued every democratic avenue available to us,” he told the committee.

Others said the school would harm students and saw Milwaukee as a source of profit, not a community it could help. “You are scammers and predators… there is no place for you in Milwaukee,” said Milwaukee Black Grassroots Network for Health Equity leader Dr. Quinton Cotton. “You are not welcome here.”

College representatives, including chairman Nick Mansour and associate provost Tamara Poole, said the business would help address a nursing shortage in Wisconsin by providing bachelor’s of science degrees. Mansour said the school outperforms many in Wisconsin. “Our students are achieving quality outcomes,” he said. The college, not affiliated with the University of Arizona system, offers a three-year bachelor’s degree program with an annual tuition price in excess of $20,000 annually.

Three new Common Council members have been elected since the proposal was last held. Among the new council members is Sharlen P. Moore, whose district includes the business park.

Moore took the same tact as her predecessor, Michael Murphy. Both made it clear they had concerns about for-profit colleges, but that a zoning change wasn’t how they thought they should be regulated. “What we are dealing with here are zoning laws,” said Moore. Murphy was the lone zoning committee member to vote against holding the matter in March.

Ald. Robert Bauman argued that AZCN and Greywolf should have gone to the Board of Zoning Appeals to challenge the original decision by the Department of Neighborhood Services and DCD that AZCN was an unapproved use for the property in question under the current zoning framework. “I think we are in the wrong courtroom on this matter,” said the alderman. He was the lone committee member to vote against the zoning change.

Brostoff, Russell W. Stamper, II, DiAndre Jackson and JoCasta Zamarripa voted for the zoning change. The full council is to review the change at its June 11 meeting.

AZCN applauded the vote in a statement. “Arizona College of Nursing looks forward to providing additional educational opportunities for future nurses in Milwaukee to address the growing need. Arizona College of Nursing is proud of the outcomes of our curriculum, such as our students’ nursing exam (NCLEX) pass rate of 89%, which is in line with Wisconsin’s average pass rate,” said Mansour.

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Related Legislation: File 231146