Demolition of the former Northridge Mall in Milwaukee will cost just under $11 million under a pending city contract with a Minnesota-based contractor.
Veit & Co. Inc. has its headquarters in Rogers, Minnesota, and opened an office in New Berlin in 2023. Its local projects include demolition of the former BMO Bradley Center.
The demolition company’s bid of $10.68 million was the lowest among a total of eight bids submitted for the job, the City of Milwaukee announced Monday.
The project includes the asbestos abatement and demolition of the entire Northridge property, minus the Boston Store, where demolition began this spring. That property is being demolished by Lannon-based HM Brandt.
The city is paying for the demolition project using $15 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers committed to the project in December 2023, according to the city. The remainder of that money will cover contingency, utility re-alignment work, fencing, environmental assessment, civil engineering and ongoing site security, the city said.
Demolition of the former mall is expected to finish by fall 2025, according to the city, with redevelopment to follow. Specific redevelopment plans and schedules have not yet been shared.
The city issued a raze order for the former mall in 2019 but faced legal pushback as the mall’s former owner, Chinese investment firm U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group Inc., challenged the order in court. The city took ownership of the mall in January to resolve a separate property tax foreclosure case.
