Redefining the possibilities

Economic development leader sees potential where others see problems
Attracting business and developing large tracts of vacant land is one thing, but how does one go about economic development in a fully developed city?
For one thing, David Geisthardt, the executive director of the Wauwatosa Economic Development Corp. (WEDC), sees things differently than most people.
“There is plenty of good land — it’s just that buildings are on top of it,” Geisthardt says of Wauwatosa, a city adjacent to Milwaukee’s west side. “That’s been something that we’ve done. If there’s a problem property or a situation where there’s contamination or something, that’s where we’ve had the biggest impact on new development — taking down what’s old.”
Geisthardt notes that the few vacant parcels of land that exist in Wauwatosa are usually owned by existing businesses that had purchased the land with the thought of future expansion. When the expansions don’t occur, the parcels left look too small to develop, at least to the untrained eye.
Since coming to the WEDC in 1997, Geisthardt has enjoyed the challenge of putting the pieces of the puzzle together to help not only incumbent Wauwatosa businesses find new spaces but new businesses, as well. His skill for seeing things for what they aren’t was fostered while he attended the University of Milwaukee’s Architecture and Urban Planning school.
“Looking at the built environment with a planning background, you kind of know where all the alleys are,” says Geisthardt. “But you also look at the spatial arrangement of things, and maybe the difference between an economic developer and a planner is the ‘What if’. What if we adjusted this? What if we were able to combine this? What if we took a different look at this from a zoning perspective? I think that’s the sort of thing that interests me — let’s redefine the possibilities.”
When Home Depot called Geisthardt and said it was looking for a multiple-acre parcel, his gut reaction was to say there was no available site that large in the city.
“You don’t usually get the call for a 13- or 14-acre site because there’s not one here,” Geisthardt said. “And as soon as I got that call and hung up, I thought, ‘Well, you know … .'”
With the help of WEDC, Home Depot built a store on the corner of Capitol Drive and 124th Street, but it took reconfiguring the intersection to make sure the store’s traffic wouldn’t affect the streets’ traffic flow. Home Depot also razed several buildings on its way to creating the 12-acre parcel.
Other than creative thinking, there are only a few undeveloped tracts of land in the city. One involves a small portion of the County Grounds just north of Watertown Plank Road, across the street from the Milwaukee County Regional Medical Center and east of Highway 45. Geisthardt sat on the land use task force appointed by County Executive Tom Ament, and noted that the task force recommended developing that land, which includes the historic Eschweiler Buildings. The new development would help pay for the restoration of the Tudor Revival Eschweiler Buildings — built in 1912 — which used to house the offices for the county orphanage.
In addition, there is an 18-acre tract of undeveloped land south of the Wauwatosa Police station and east of 116th Street, but the property needs engineering-grade fill and other improvements before anyone gives it serious consideration. It’s easier, Geisthardt says, to clear a site by razing a building than to sink money into a site’s infrastructure.
That being the case, Wauwatosa has had its share of redeveloped sites, with Home Depot being the highest profile and largest. The Outpost Natural Foods store on the corner of 70th and State streets is also a case where the WEDC facilitated state and county concerns with those of the landowners. Outpost’s site qualified for a $300,000 brownfield grant from the state and a $35,000 clean up grant from Milwaukee County.
Because vacant lots are scarce, it takes a special developer to take advantage of smaller spaces. One such project is LeFeber Point on State Street in the heart of the business district. The mixed-use building has residential apartments with underground parking and will most likely include a restaurant. It exemplifies what Geisthardt calls a “shoehorn” development, meaning the developer fits the building into oddly shaped parcels or tight quarters.
Geisthardt conservatively estimates that the WEDC, along with its partners like the Chamber of Commerce, business improvement district, the Research Park, and city and county officials, increased Wauwatosa’s tax base by $35 million over the past five years.
“The next few years could be very interesting,” Geisthardt says. “The last five have been interesting as well, but in a slower growth period, depending how long that lasts, the projects may simmer for a while longer — you have to get past the uncertainty edge. But a lot of companies have been around for a long time and plan to be around for a long time.”
Among the areas to be redeveloped are: the Camelot Inn, 10900 W. Blue Mound Rd., where the developer plans to raze the two-story motel and build more than 40 apartments with underground parking; the East Town District on North Avenue between Wauwatosa Avenue (76th Street) and 60th Street, which Geisthardt says is one of WEDC’s priorities; there will be continued redevelopment along State Street; and there is tremendous potential for the land near the expanded Hart Park. Geisthardt said he would be surprised if the businesses along River Parkway remain light manufacturing and distribution considering they will become riverfront-parkfront parcels. [Hart Park is expanding as part of a flood prevention program that included the purchase of several blocks of residential housing as well as some commercial properties in the flood plain.]
As for being lured to communities with huge tracts of undeveloped land, Geisthardt, who touts Wauwatosa’s location as ideal for any business, says working in an almost fully developed city is fine with him.
“It’s challenging and satisfying enough,” Geisthardt says. “I think it is part of the planner in me that enjoys working with the built environment.
“Somebody’s going to convert farm fields into whatever they build on them, but it doesn’t have to be me.”
November 23, 2001 Small Business Times, Milwaukee