A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Thursday, Oct. 16, to celebrate the start of construction of the first new building in the Century City Business Park in Milwaukee.
The 53,160-square-foot speculative industrial building is being developed by Fox Point-based General Capital Group. Site preparation work for the building will begin soon and vertical construction is expected to begin next spring, Department of City Development spokesman Jeff Fleming said.
Century City is a City of Milwaukee redevelopment project for the eastern portion of the former A.O. Smith and Tower Automotive site south of Capitol Drive at North 31st Street. The city acquired the 87-acre site, located east of the Soo Line railroad tracks, in 2009 and has been preparing it for development ever since.
General Capital’s building will have 24-foot clear ceiling heights and will be designed to accommodate several industrial tenants.
The city, state and federal governments have spent about $35 million on planning, demolition and environmental remediation to prepare the site for redevelopment. City officials hope the project will attract much needed jobs to the central city.
“The City of Milwaukee, in partnership wit state and federal agencies, has made significant investments to get Century City ready for job-creating development,” Mayor Tom Barrett said. “This new building is a visible and tangible sign that Century City is moving forward.”
General Capital plans to build a second building at Century City, about the same size as the first building, once a significant amout of space is leased in the first building.