Northridge Mall: Milwaukee zoning committee questions future
MILWAUKEE - As Northridge Mall still sits in legal limbo, the Milwaukee Common Council Zoning Committee met Tuesday, June 13.
The once-popular mall has been closed since 2003. The city is in court trying to have the building torn down and take possession of the property, but a company is under contract to buy it in hopes of keeping the building there and transforming it.
"We have seen it sit there and be an eyesore for so long and be a place we can’t enjoy," said Ald. Larresa Taylor, whose district includes the property. "We want to make it usable and aesthetically pleasing."
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The Milwaukee Fire Department said it responded to five fires at the abandoned mall from July 2022 to December 2022.
"People are making their way into the building, they may be bringing things with them, garbage," said MFD Battalion Chief Darin Peterburs. "There are still things when they left the mall however many years ago, decades ago…so, there’s trash, rubbish, if it’s cold in the winter time, they may be brining things in with them to start fires, not for nefarious reasons, but to keep themselves warm, to provide lighting."
Northridge Mall property, Milwaukee
The fire department said it hasn't responded to any fires at Northridge Mall so far this year, crediting new security.
"Phoenix has spent at least a quarter of a million dollars on security, cleaning up debris, graffiti removal, and maintaining the site. We’re happy to report that through our efforts, there’s been no break-ins in the property in the last month and a half," said Heather Niski, Phoenix Investors real estate counsel. "We believe that through our efforts, it’s our belief that Northridge is no longer a nuisance to the community.
"We are interested in acquiring that property and redeveloping it, and we want to protect the asset."
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Milwaukee-based Phoenix Northridge Industrial Investors is under contract to buy the old mall from its current owner, Black Spruce. That sale has not gone through, but Niski said she hopes it will in the next few months – and renovations would happen quickly after.
"It’s Phoenix’s position that the mall building itself should be re-purposed. We’ve had engineers look at the property. We’ve extensively went through it. We feel that the bones of the property are good and does not need to be demoed," she said.
In 2019, the city issued an order to tear the building down. That case is still in court.
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"People have had so many fond memories that it is really disappointing to see that it’s come to almost nothing right now," Taylor said. "I think it’s really important that since we have such fond memories that we produce something that can bring about more memories right now."
Niski told the Common Council they are looking at also buying nearby blighted properties. They would use it for industrial use, something that would require the Common Council to approve a zoning change. In court documents, the city said it had "significant reservations" about Phoenix Investors' proposed use.