After neighbor concerns, Milwaukee alderwoman delays apartments review

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By TOM DAYKIN

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A Bay View affordable apartment development’s city review is being delayed by that neighborhood’s Common Council member – citing concerns about parking and other issues.

Meanwhile, a deadline looms for a key tool the developers would use to finance the 100-unit Austin Commons.

“I really want this to go through,” said Brandon Methu, principal at Nothernstar Companies LLC, which is working with Commonwealth Development Corp. on the project.

Missing the financing deadline could hurt other Milwaukee affordable housing developments, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Milwaukee-based Northernstar and Fond du Lac-based Commonwealth would use federal affordable housing tax credits as part of their financing package. Those include requirements the apartments be provided at below-market rents to people earning 30% to 80% of the area median income.

The tax credits are sold to raise cash, with the developers then obtaining bank loans and other funds to complete their financing packages.

Tax credits are allocated through annual competitions, with “use it or lose it” deadlines. Austin Commons must break ground by July 31 to keep its tax credits, Methu said.

The four-story building would replace three vacant houses, at 2318 through 2332 S. Austin St.

That site is zoned for apartments, so a Plan Commission and Common Council zoning review isn’t needed.

But council approval is required for a $2.1 million tax incremental financing district to help finance the $33.3 million development.

That financing district would use Austin Commons’ property tax revenue to make annual payments to the developers over an estimated 21 years.

The Redevelopment Authority board on May 4 approved the financing district.

But its planned May 5 review by the Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee didn’t happen.

That’s because Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, whose district includes Bay View, says the development proposal hasn’t changed despite resident concerns regarding parking, traffic congestion, street repairs, building height and building setback.

That’s despite two neighborhood meetings that Dimitrijevic said she hosted in hopes of creating a “productive dialogue.”

“It’s the responsibility of the developer and the Mayor’s Department of City Development to earn the support of nearby neighbors when they propose to fund new developments with public money,” Dimitrijevic wrote in an email.

“I remain open to a path forward for the project, but neighborhood concerns must be addressed,” she said.

Dimitrijevic noted her support for The Corliss affordable apartment development, a nearby 576-unit project opening at 135 E. Becher St.

She said her constituents embraced The Corliss, formerly known as Filer & Stowell Lofts, “after a good deal of engagement with the developer.”

Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s administration supports Austin Commons because it would bring new affordable housing options to Bay View, said Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump.

The city’s Bay View neighborhood plan says those apartments are badly needed, Crump said. The monthly rents would be as low as $531 for a one-bedroom unit for a household earning no higher than 30% of the area median income.

Methu, the developer, said neighbors are mainly concerned about Austin Commons residents parking on South Austin Street and other nearby streets.

That issue was raised at the Redevelopment Authority’s April 16 meeting by Anders Meyer, who operates a trucking company just across the street from the development site.

The development would include 104 indoor parking spaces, Methu said.

He also cited a traffic study commissioned by the developers, and the Department of Public Works’ overview of the neighborhood’s parking conditions, which show no expected congestion or parking issues.

“At this stage, opposition appears less rooted in data and more in fixed positions that are unlikely to shift based on additional analysis,” Methu wrote in an email.

Finally, Methu said missing the July 31 deadline – and losing the tax credits – would have consequences beyond Austin Commons.

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, which review tax credits applications, “evaluates not only individual developments but also the reliability of local jurisdictions in advancing housing supported by their own zoning frameworks,” Methu wrote in an email to Dimitrejevic.

“When a project with compliant zoning, demonstrated feasibility, and secured financing cannot move forward, it raises serious concerns about whether Milwaukee is a dependable environment for future housing investment.

“That signal has real consequences. It can directly influence how future tax credits are allocated across the state and may disadvantage Milwaukee in competing for those resources,” Methu wrote.