City officials are in the early stages of planning a redevelopment project for the area near the Port of Milwaukee.
The first step of the redevelopment project is to indentify the boundaries of the redevelopment project area. The proposed boundaries are, roughly, South 1st Street, the lake cut, the lakefront south of the Hoan Bridge and Bay Street.
The city first must establish the boundaries for the redevelopment project before the Redevelopment Authority can exercise its statutory powers to acquire and rehabilitation properties in the area.
The city has not developed any specific plan yet for the port redevelopment area, Department of City Development spokeswoman Andrea Rowe Richards said. That work comes after the Common Council approves the proposed boundary for the redevelopment area.
The Port of Milwaukee and the UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute are key assets in the area that could help attract development to the area, Richards said. Several properties in the proposed redevelopment area, including the former Solvay Coke site and the former Grede Foundaries property, are blighted and vacant.
The redevelopment plan, once crafted, may include a proposed water business incubator near the WATER Institute, Richards said.
City officials say the Naval Armory and Coast Guard sites would continue as they are currently being used.
