UWM Waukesha campus sale authorized, housing development planned
UWM Waukesha campus sale authorized, housing development planned
Waukesha County has authorized the sale of the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus.
WAUKESHA, Wis. - Waukesha County has authorized the sale of the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus.
Building break-ins
What To Know:
The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department says there have been at least four instances of criminal damage to property, including vandalism and teens breaking into the vacant buildings. A spokesman for the Sheriff says the most recent incident was last Thursday, September 17. Deputies found four teens outside of a building on the property.
Investigators say they later admitted to entering one of the buildings. Each kid was issued trespassing citations and were released to their parents. The department responded to three other recent incidents at the college, where damage was reported to windows and doors.
UWM at Waukesha
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Development plans
What To Know:
The County moved forward with plans to sell the property, which closed for good at the end of the spring 2025 semester. A Milwaukee firm plans to build roughly 70 single-family homes and 600 multifamily units. Renderings are being shown from the company, F-Street, for the first time. Neighbors previously expressed apprehension about apartment buildings on the site, and plans now call for three-to-four-story apartment buildings.
Development renderings, courtesy: F Street
Development renderings, courtesy: F Street
The latest news is getting mixed reactions from neighbors. One resident told FOX6 News he did not know about the sale and had no clue about the damage.
What they're saying:
"Opportunities strike people in different ways. Opportunity to have a nice home in a nice area. Or the opportunity to loot or to find something for free is probably enticing for a faction of people as well. There’s a lot of things that are surprising me today," said Tom Badger, homeowner.
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The County Executive’s office estimates the new development will add more than $150 million to the tax base. A county spokeswoman says deputies and Waukesha police have added extra patrols to this area in response to the recent break-ins. If development plans are approved by the city, demolition of these buildings could start early next year.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Bret Lemoine and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Waukesha County, F Street, City of Waukesha, Waukesha County Parks and Land Use Director Dale Shaver, RINKA, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Waukesha Community Development Director Jennifer Andrews and County Executive Interim Thomas P. Farley.