The City of Greenfield has selected Milwaukee-based real estate development firm
Mandel Group to redevelop the mostly-vacant
Spring Mall site with nearly 300 new multifamily housing units.
Located northeast of South 76th Street and West Cold Spring Road, the 24-acre property was acquired by the city in June for $3.7 million and, in September, the city issued a request for proposals, seeking a mixed-use redevelopment.
Two Milwaukee-area developers
responded to the RFP, according to
Kristi Porter community development manager, and the city chose to pursue plans from Mandel Group, which has developed more than 4,000 apartments and condos in Milwaukee and its suburbs.
"The city was very pleased with both responses," Porter said. "...We're really excited and verry pleased for that project to move forward to get rid of an eyesore that's been sitting vacant for quite some time."
Plans are still in early stages, but Porter said the parties have agreed on the $4 million property sale price with a late-October closing. Mandel plans on demolishing the 167,000 square feet of existing commercial space and replacing it with 288 market rate apartments, a clubhouse and space for
Meyer’s Restaurant and Bar, the mall's only remaining commercial tenant.
"Meyer's is kind of a neighborhood institution there," said Bob Monnat, senior partner at Mandel. "It's kind of the place where everyone goes for receptions, funerals. It's a big part of the project and the surrounding retail is certainly not doing it any favors."
The city will be creating a new tax incremental financing (TIF) district to support the demolition and development costs, Porter said.
Under zoning approved in July, the city will allow up to 500 apartments in four-story buildings on the property. It also would allow up to 250,000 square feet of commercial space in five-story buildings with retail, offices, medical clinics or other entertainment businesses.
Previously, a couple of redevelopment proposals were put forward for the Spring Mall site, but neither moved forward.
Approximately two years ago, Seattle-based
Amazon presented Greenfield officials with plans to build a distribution facility on the property. According to Porter, Amazon and Spring Mall’s former owner New York City-based Brixmor Property Group approached the city about building a 118,000-square-foot “last mile” Amazon facility. Discussions continued until June of 2022 when Amazon withdrew the proposal, saying “delays and changing direction” contributed to the decision to drop the plans.
After another redevelopment proposal for the site, from Milwaukee-based Cobalt Partners which included about 370 housing units, also fell through, the city purchased the site and began the RFP process.
The last time Mandel had a significant project in Greenfield was 1990, according to Monnat, when the firm developed the 206-unit Ravinia apartment complex, which is located about two miles east of Spring Mall, at the intersection of West Cold Spring Road and West Loomis Road.
