TIF Funds Support Walker Square Park Upgrades

Walker Square Park. Photo taken August 14th, 2016 by Dave Reid.

Real estate development in the city of Milwaukee is once again benefitting county parks.

The City of Milwaukee has used financing deals for large commercial real estate developments to fund improvements to public infrastructure like parks in recent years. Walker Square Park is the latest to benefit from these deals.

In May this year, the Department of City Development revealed plans to tap the over performing 6th and National tax incremental financing (TIF) district for $7.5 million to fund public infrastructure in the Walker Square neighborhood. Milwaukee County Parks is receiving approximately $750,000 from the district for improvements in the park.

Parks plans to ask the surrounding neighborhood residents what they want to see in the park. The department announced plans to survey residents within one quarter-mile of the park. The survey responses, the city’s neighborhood development plan and input from the Walker Square Neighborhood Association and Friends of Walker Square Park will guide the development of a “site-based plan” for the park.

Walker Square Park is only the latest of the county parks to benefit from the city’s tax incremental financing districts.

State law precludes the county from creating TIF districts, which can use increased property tax collections from development to fund public improvements within a half-mile of their boundaries. But the city has invested in a handful of county parks in recent years, using TIF funds. TIF districts that have funded nearby park improvements in recent years include investments in Juneau Park, Cathedral Square Park, Red Arrow Park and Zeidler Union Square.

The parks system has a massive infrastructure maintenance backlog, estimated at approximately half a billion. It also does not have a dedicated source of revenue. The department generates more than 50% of its own operating revenue each year through fees, rentals and food and beverage sales.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum released a report earlier this year highlighting a few strategies the county can pursue to find additional revenue for the parks system. One was increased cooperation, or partnership, with local municipalities that have a vested interest in maintaining a local park.

The City of Milwaukee has taken the lead on using TIF districts to fund park improvements, many of them coming right out of the city’s area planning documents.

In Walker Square, DCD worked with local residents to create a strategic plan for the neighborhood. This plan called for improvements to the local park and is a primary reason the county is receiving the TIF funding.

The park improvements survey is also available online.