Mark Hammond, Wauwatosa development director, will leave for nonprofit job

By BRIDGET FOGARTY

USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

Less than two years since he started as Wauwatosa development director, Mark Hammond is leaving the city to take a new leadership role at a Wisconsin nonprofit focused on expanding affordable housing.

Hammond will leave the city May 15 to work for the Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. as senior vice president development, construction and acquisition.

“I’m proud of what my team and I accomplished in nearly two years serving the City,” Hammond wrote in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The job is challenging and rewarding in equal measure, and I’ll leave with a few more friends than I started with.”

Hammond started as city development director in September 2024 following his predecessor Paulette Enders’ retirement after 12 years in the role. Before working at the city, he developed housing at MSP Real Estate and served on Wauwatosa’s community development authority.

As development director, Hammond earned a $170,123 annual salary at the city, according to Eva Ennamorato, communications manager. A recruitment brochure on the city’s website for the role in 2024 listed a salary range of $126,734 to $161,928.

The city plans to hire someone to fill the development director position by late summer, according to the city website.

Hammond will leave behind groundwork on “two significant property acquisitions, with announcements expected in the coming days and weeks,” he said in his email to the Journal Sentinel.

Hammond said he is most proud of his team’s work on the joint master planning of the Milwaukee County Research Park with developer Irgens.

During his time as director, the city’s Community Development Authority closed on the land transfer agreement on the former Mayfair Mall Boston Store with mall property owner Brookfield Properties to make way for the Scheels sporting goods retailer that plans to open in 2027.