Milwaukee Northridge Mall demolition on hold again

MILWAUKEE - The demolition of Milwaukee's vacant Northridge Mall is on hold again as the mall's owners appeal a raze order.

U.S. Black Spruce owns the property and had an Oct. 31 deadline to pay $109,000 in fines stacked up since summer.

The appeal is the latest chapter in the shuttered mall's saga that -- at least right now -- has no end in sight. From fires to trespassing and vandalism, for years, the old Northridge Mall building has been the center of conflict over safety and your tax dollars.

Northridge Mall property, Milwaukee

FOX6 News left messages with attorneys for the owner of the shuttered property Tuesday, U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group. They did not respond.

Filings show they're trying to appeal a Milwaukee County judge's entire order, including $109,000 in sanctions that were due on Monday.

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"They’ve proven over the course of the last several years to not be good landlords, and it’s come at the detriment of not just the property but the neighborhood, overall," said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

Northridge Mall

On Tuesday, Mayor Johnson said the city's fight is ongoing.

"The city’s stated its case," said Mayor Johnson. "We’d like to move forward here, to get some resolution here and that’s what we’ll continue to do."

The city issued raze orders for the properties in 2019. Black Spruce appealed and had those put on hold. The case was sent back to the lower court, where Judge William Sosnay ordered the raze orders enforced and a $2,000 daily fine for not securing the properties.

Vacant Northridge Mall (2020)

"When the property owners do not secure that property and folks are able to get in and start these fires, it puts the lives of our first responders at risk," said Mayor Johnson.