Greendale officials have a developer, a development proposal and a TIF district in place to redevelop the former Boston Store at Southridge Mall, but decades-old restrictions on the property have halted those plans for months.
Now, the village is beginning a legal process to remove them.
The Boston Store property has been vacant since 2018 and was bought by the village of Greendale in 2021.
Milwaukee-based developer Barrett Lo Visionary Development has entered into an agreement with the village to tear down the 220,000-square-foot building and build 790 apartments and 50,000 square feet of commercial space.
However, restrictions written by past mall owners prohibit the village from redeveloping the land for anything but another department store. Those restrictions can’t be lifted without approval from the other property owners at Southridge Mall and only two of the three other owners have reached an agreement with the village.
In order to move the process along, the village is resorting to state statutes that allow the village to condemn the property and remove the restrictions, according to village manager Mike Hawes.
“At this time, the village will need to proceed with the condemnation process in order to move forward with the new operating agreement and revitalization of Southridge,” Hawes said in a statement.
The condemnation process would target the restrictions controlled by Houston-based Fidelis Realty Partners, which is the one owner that has not yet reached an agreement with the village. This spring, Fidelis bought the former Sears store that is now a Dick’s Sporting Goods, T.J. Maxx and Golf Galaxy.
“The village has attempted to work cooperatively with Fidelis over the past six months on the new operating agreement for Southridge,” Hawes said.
