Council Split On Cudahy Farms Proposal

Cudahy Farms. Rendering by Engberg Anderson Architects.

A council showdown is finally coming for a long-proposed housing development on Milwaukee’s Far Northwest Side.

By a single vote, the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee recommended adopting a zoning change and city subsidy for the 212-unit Cudahy Farms affordable housing proposal.

But area Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, who doesn’t serve on the committee, is opposing the development and encouraging her colleagues to vote it down.

Royal Capital Group wants to develop a portion of the 51-acre former Cudahy YMCA site at N. Swan and W. Brown Deer roads. It is no longer seeking approval for a multi-phase, 1,125-unit unit for much of the site.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s administration is strongly supporting the development.

“We have seen seeking for some time to move this project forward in part of the city that is starved for investment,” said Department of City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump during Tuesday’s committee meeting. “We support this project because we need more housing in Milwaukee, we need more affordable housing, we need senior housing and this project delivers. We support this project because history has shown that to change a community, you need to change what is available in a community. And this project delivers amenities that will change residents’ lives for the better, high-quality, gated, secured outdoor amenities. It’s a great project from the kind of partner we want to work with for years to come.”

One hundred of the units would be set aside for seniors aged 55 and older. All of the units in the initial phase of the gated development would be set aside for those making no more than 80% of the area median income. A DCD representative said that the low-income units would end up increasing the average income of the area.

But Taylor said Royal Capital Group’s plans would “strain” city resources and are dangerous because the development would be located next to a “hotspot” and “crime-ridden area,” the largely failed Woodlands condominium development.

“It’s a truly remarkable concession to stated aldermanic and neighborhood concerns,” said Crump of scaling down the proposal and waiting years to advance the proposal. Royal Capital bought the site in 2021, introduced its proposal in 2022 and had its initial City Plan Commission review in 2023. The project, publicly, sat idle until the redevelopment authority reviewed the subsidy portion in March.

Taylor’s presentation, frequently interrupted, occupied much of the nearly four-hour hearing.

“I’m not opposed to development, and I don’t want anyone to think that, but I just want a little consideration to the area in its entirety,” she said. The alderwoman said she has held seven community meetings about the proposal.

Taylor showed videos of driving around the largely undeveloped site and nearby developments, crime stats for the neighboring Woodlands complex, testimony of a manager of gated communities in her district and concerns with issues that arose with a Royal Capital development in Madison.

Developer Kevin Newell said the Madison issues were due to since-fired property management firm and that his tenants were the victims. He said the company has a good track record, including the ThriveOn King development, Five Fifty Ultra Lofts and Fortitude Apartments in Milwaukee.

In March, Taylor gave similar presentations to the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee and Granville and Havenwoods Advisory Committee in March.

A handful of neighbors testified against the proposal, including Nicole Hartley and Ruthie Jones. Both said they didn’t want the development next to their literal backyard.

“They’re destroying our backyard,” said Jones. “I think it’s going to bring more crime… I just think it’s going to be too congested.”

“Put it where the cement is,” said Hartley of the nearby Northridge Mall site and other empty commercial properties.

“Why we’re not discussing that is beyond me,” said committee chair Alderman Robert Bauman. “We don’t seem to have learned the lessons from super block housing developments of low-income residents. They’re almost impossible to prevent from bad behavior polluting the water to the extent that good tenants leave, the seniors leave, because they’re not going to put up with bad behavior, and then families who are paying rent and are dilligent, they’ll leave, and then suddenly all you have is bad behavior and its very hard to dislodge”

Kristin Thiel, head of the nearby Mequon Nature Preserve, said her organization would like to purchase the property for the same price that Royal Capital paid, $1.5 million. Kohl Park is also located to the north, and Thiel said that combined, the properties would create a site larger than Central Park in New York City.

Bauman proposed a conservation easement that would prevent development of the remainder of the site, but Newell said he didn’t believe that would appease opponents. He also didn’t rule out that his firm would introduce future phases, which would be subject to future zoning changes, if things go well.

“Our entire process has been compromising. We’ve been collaborating and listening,” said the developer.

Crump said Newell has made a “remarkable concession” in scaling the development’s unit count back by approximately 80%.

Several hours into the meeting, even Fire Chief Aaron Lipski testified. He said it was important that the Milwaukee Fire Department was provided access off of N. Swan Road, even if it was through a gate. He said the proposal to use W. Ferry Chasm Road, which would add more than a half mile to any response length, was “absolutely irresponsible and ludicrous.” A DCD representative confirmed that the Swan Road access point was required as part of the zoning change. It was previously the YMCA access point and was to be the access to the development, but Taylor opposed it because of its proximity to the Woodlands.

A childcare center with space for approximately 80 children and the YMCA’s Miracle League baseball league would continue to operate at the site.

The city would provide $3.7 million to the $56.8 million development through a developer-financed tax incremental financing district, effectively a property tax rebate.

Bauman attempted to delay the vote until a future meeting, but an up-or-down vote was requested by Newell.

Committee members Scott Spiker, DiAndre Jackson and Russell W. Stamper, II voted for the proposal. Milele A. Coggs and Bauman voted against it.

The full council is to review the proposal on July 15.

Renderings and Site Plan

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UPDATE: Bauman’s quote on tenants leaving was updated to remove an erroneous word.

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