Property values increased 28% along streetcar route
Citywide increase was 13.4% in same period
Property values along the route of the new Milwaukee streetcar have increased nearly 28% since the project was approved, city officials announced Tuesday.
Values within a quarter-mile of the 2.5-mile route increased 27.9% to $3.95 billion since the Common Council approved the project in 2015, data from the city assessor’s office said.
That compares with a citywide increase in values of 13.4% in the same period, the city said.
“That’s what we expected, that the streetcar would be a great economic development tool,” Mayor Tom Barrett said in an interview. “The whole picture is very positive.”
The property values report comes a month before the grand opening of the $124 million streetcar, known as The Hop. The city has planned a weekendlong event starting with a Nov. 2 ribbon cutting in Cathedral Square Park.
Barrett said there has been “new construction and significant investments around The Hop stations.”
“By adding to the economic strength of the center of Milwaukee, The Hop brings benefits throughout the city.”
Barrett was later joined at a news conference by two developers, Joshua Jeffers and Mark Irgens, who said The Hop is making downtown more accessible to both area residents and visitors.
“This is about connectivity,” said Jeffers, whose downtown projects include the redevelopment of the Mackie Building, 225 E. Michigan St., and the proposed Broadway Connection office building, 511 N. Broadway.
Irgens’ projects include the 25-story BMO Tower office high-rise that’s being built at 790 N. Water St.
The Hop will run seven days a week and pick up passengers at 18 stations every 10 or 15 minutes.
Critics at the state and local level say the city is wasting money by returning to a transportation system that was discarded decades ago. Supporters believe it will be embraced by residents and workers and contribute to the downtown renaissance.
The rise in property values is important to the streetcar financing package.
About half of the streetcar’s construction cost comes from two federal grants specifically allocated for the streetcar. Another $59 million comes from three tax incremental financing districts.
With a TIF district, the city borrows money to pay for infrastructure improvements, such as new roads or, in this case, the streetcar line. The money is repaid through taxes generated by the increased value of properties within
the district.
However, a key component of the streetcar project — the proposed $122 million Couture high rise apartment project — remains up in the air. The streetcar’s lakefront loop — expected to open in 2020 — would pass through the ground level of the complex.
The Couture plan includes a $6 million transit concourse, part of $17.5 million in public improvements at the project. Those would include plazas, green space and elevated walking and biking paths connecting the high-rise to O’Donnell Park and the lakefront.
The Couture’s developer, Barrett Lo Visionary Development LLC, is still waiting for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials to decide whether the department will grant a guarantee for the project’s construction loan.
That loan guarantee is a key part of the Couture’s financing package. Department officials have said they’re still considering Barrett Lo’s application and haven’t indicated when a decision will be made.
The Hop will run on a loop through downtown and the Historic Third Ward between the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, 433 W. St. Paul Ave., and Burns Commons, at East Ogden and North Prospect avenues.
The project includes five streetcars, tracks, overhead wires and a new maintenance facility.
Rides are free during the first year under a 12-year, $10 million sponsorship by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.