Century City Business Park to expand despite struggles

Plan calls for buying 13.7 acres for $250,000

The City of Milwaukee is planning an expansion of its Century City Business Park — even as it has struggled to attract development there.

The new proposal calls for buying 13.7 acres at 3940 N. 35th St. for $250,000.

Half of the purchase price would be provided through the 30th Street Corridor Business Improvement District. That district is financed by neighborhood commercial property owners.

The district and the Redevelopment Authority would work together to develop the site, according to the proposal.

The authority's board is to review the proposal, which also needs Common Council approval, at its Thursday meeting. The property, assessed at $543,400, is now owned by Tower Automotive Operations USA III LLC, an investors group based in Delaware.

That vacant tract, part of the former Tower Automotive Inc./A.O. Smith Corp. manufacturing complex, is south of West Capitol Drive between North 35th Street and the railroad tracks.

Century City Business Park is south of Capitol Drive, between the railroad tracks and West Hopkins Street. It has 45 acres available for development.

The North 35th Street property sale will "facilitate redevelopment of the site" and "expand employment and investment opportunities in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor," according to the proposal.

The new site would provide much more frontage on Capitol Drive, giving Century City a lot more visibility, city Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux said Monday.

Also, it would allow for a new pedestrian and bike path across the railroad tracks south of Capitol Drive, he said. That would make it easier for employees to walk to businesses locating at Century City from Capitol Drive bus stops.

"It gives us the ability to make a connection there," Marcoux said.

Finally, the additional site could help land prospects that want more space, he said.

Mayor Tom Barrett and the Common Council in 2009 approved a $35 million redevelopment plan for the main Century City site, including state and federal funds totaling more than $9 million.

combination of what the government says are the only two significant magazine, catalog and book printers in the country.

But the department argued that the companies’ October 30 expiration date was self-imposed, and that parties to merger agreements often adjust their deadlines when confronted by antitrust challenges.

Last week, in Chicago, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle rejected the schedule proposed by Quad and LSC and ordered that proceedings largely follow the schedule proposed by the Justice Department.

The department sued last month to block Quad’s proposed acquisition of LSC, saying the combination would allow Quad to dominate markets for magazine, catalog and book printing, raise prices and reduce quality.

Quad has said the merger would lead to cost-saving opportunities for customers, protect jobs and better position the company to battle digital competitors.