Harley wants to drop office development plans near museum

Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. is asking city of Milwaukee officials to allow it to drop its plans to develop 100,000 square feet of office and/or commercial space near its Harley-Davidson Museum at the east end of the Menomonee Valley.
The city provided $7 million in tax incremental financing (TIF) for the museum project and relocated some of its Public Works Department operations from the property to the former Tower Automotive property in the central city.
The plans for the office development were part of the company’s agreement with the city, but the company says it is unable to progress with that phase of the development in the weak economy.
Under the current proposal the company plans to pay the city $550,000 for changing the development agreement for the museum campus, and the city plans to reduce its TIF contribution for the project from $7 million to $5.765 million.
The proposed changes to the agreement will reviewed by the Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee on Wednesday and by the city’s Redevelopment Authority on Thursday.