Still searching for a job-heavy industrial development, the City of Oak Creek has purchased a piece of vacant land near the Oakview Business Park after previous agreements did not deliver the city’s desired development.
Located near the city’s southern border, Oakview Business Park already has hundreds of acres of industrial development and, in 2022, the City of Oak Creek entered into an agreement to market a 40-acre property at the southwest corner of West Oakwood Road and South Howell Avenue for a large, job-creating user of up to 800,000 square feet.
At that time, the city had acquired an approximately 14-acre site (at 10304 S. Oakview Pkwy.) from Wispark, the real estate development arm of WEC Energy Group and lead developer of Oakview Business Park, and entered into an agreement with New Berlin-based Anderson Ashton Design/Build and Thiensville-based Devo Properties to acquire a 25-acre property (10523 S. Howell Ave.) from a private owner to create the 40-acre site.
That agreement came to an end at the end of last year, however, with no user, according to Oak Creek community development director Kristi Laine. The city was a backstop buyer for the 25-acre Howell Avenue property, which is purchased in late December for $3.7 million, according to state property records.
The city is still searching for one or multiple industrial users, ideally a manufacturing headquarters, to fill the full 40-acre site, according to Laine
“This site is a premiere corner and gateway to the business park and the city has been really selective as to how it will develop,” Laine said.
Laine said the city now has a buyer for a portion of the 40-acre site, though the deal has not closed yet.
