Todd Reardon, the owner of the Braeger auto dealerships, said he plans to move his Braeger Chevrolet dealership south, and probably outside of the city of Milwaukee, because of plans by the state Department of Transportation to close the freeway ramp to the street for traffic coming north through the Mitchell Interchange.
Reardon has hired David Devorkin of CB Richard Ellis to help him find a new site for the dealership, currently located at 4100 S. 27th St. in Milwaukee. The current Braeger Chevrolet dealership property has an assessed value of $3.3 million, according to city records.
Reardon said he needs about five acres for the new dealership location. He wants a location to the south, but wants to remain north of Rawson Avenue. He also wants to remain on South 27th Street.
"I’ve got a geographic reach that I have to cover," he said. "I can go east, but it doesn’t make much sense to leave 27th Street.
Reardon plans to move the dealership because of the DOT’s plans to close the ramp to South 27th Street. The ramp closure is part of the planned reconstruction and expansion of Interstate 94 from the state line to the Mitchell Interchange. Southbound traffic coming from the downtown area and eastbound traffic coming from the west would still be able to exit at 27th Street, but northbound traffic from the southern part of the metro area and Illinois would not be able to. Northbound traffic would instead have to exit at Layton Avenue and go west on Layton to get to 27th Street. Traffic on 27th Street will also have to use Layton Avenue to go south on I-94. The other ramps from 27th Street to the freeway would remain open.
However, these are only part of the DOT’s preferred alternative and the plans could still change, said DOT spokesman Dennis Shook.
"None of this is finalized," he said.
But Reardon plans to take advantage of a General Motors Corp. program that provides financial assistance to dealerships that are forced to relocate because of transportation system changes, such as freeway ramp closures. Reardon said he expects to receive between $500,000 and $5 million in financial assistance from GM for the move.
"I’m going to be requesting in the millions," he said.
Reardon planned to move the dealership four years ago to a site in Oak Creek. However, he could not receive zoning approval for the site. In addition he met with City of Milwaukee officials who convinced him to stay.
However, now that the DOT plans to close the freeway ramp he has decided he needs to move the dealership and the financial assistance from GM makes it a no-brainer.
"(Because of the GM assistance) it’s actually more lucrative for me to move now than it would have been four years ago," he said.
Depending on how far south he moves the dealership, and which side of South 27th Street he chooses, the new location could be in Milwaukee, Greenfield, Franklin or Oak Creek. However, Reardon said it is highly unlikely the new site will be in the city of Milwaukee.
Later, Reardon plans to re-locate his Braeger Ford dealership at 4201 S. 27th St., Greenfield, which will also be affected by the 27th Street ramp closure. However, unlike GM, Ford does not provide financial assistance for a relocation and moving two dealerships at once would be a "monumental undertaking," Reardon said.
Reardon is chairman of the South 27th Street Business Preservation Association. The organization is still fighting the DOT’s plans to close the South 27th Street ramps.
If the DOT changed its mind and kept the ramps open, Reardon said he would reconsider moving his dealerships, but that appears unlikely, he said.
Business owners along South 27th Street are frustrated that Mayor Tom Barrett and Ald. Terry Witkowski have not taken a strong stand against the DOT’s ramp closure plans, Reardon said. Most business owners on the street are supporting Witkowski’s opponent in the upcoming election, former Milwaukee Police Association president Bradley DeBraska, he said.
DeBraska criticized Witkowski and Barrett, saying they are not fighting to keep the ramp open.
"Alderman Witkowski and Mayor Barrett are supporting DOT and will not fight to change the plans and it’s really unfair," DeBraska said. "All of the businesses on 27th street are just going to go south or west out of Milwaukee. How many more companies can they lose before they wake up? They talk a good game but at the end of the day they do nothing."
However, Witkowski said he did ask the DOT to keep the all of the ramps to 27th Street open. He also asked the DOT to make safety, landscaping and way-finding signage improvements for 27th Street if the ramp is closed. He said the DOT’s response to that request was, "favorable."
"Just in case the state and federal government ignore the alternative, how do you make sure we are not left there holding our protest signs?" Witkowski said. "I’m trying to make sure we get something out of it."
The DOT would have had to demolish several homes to keep the ramp open to South 27th Street, and make necessary safety improvements, said Witkowski, who also said he fought against any plans to destroy homes for the freeway project.
City officials met with DOT officials about the project and encouraged them to keep the ramps open, said City Engineer Jeff Polenske. However, the city’s biggest priorities were to have a safe interchange and to rebuild it without demolishing any homes. The DOT indicated it could not do that and keep all of the ramps open, he said.
"We would like to see that movement (of northbound traffic exiting at 27th Street) accomodated, but you have to balance it at what cost?" Polenske said.
About 16,000 vehicles exit from I-894 onto South 27th Street each day, but only about 1,500 of them go north through the Mitchell Interchange and then exit on the 27th Street ramp, Polenske said. About 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles travel down South 27th Street each day, he said.
Still, other businesses are planning to leave South 27th Street if the freeway ramp is closed, DeBraska said.
Last year, Reardon moved his Braeger Chrysler Jeep dealership from South 27th Street and Howard Avenue in Milwaukee to 6133 S. 27th St. in Greenfield. The Chrysler Jeep dealership property was purchased by CVS Pharmacy.
