Ballpark Commons gets Franklin’s OK, with conditions

A proposal to build a baseball stadium for an independent professional team, along with other commercial developments and more than 300 apartments, has received conditional approval from the Franklin Common Council.

Developers Mike Zimmerman and Blair Williams must comply with around 40 conditions before they can begin building the controversial mixed-use project, known as Ballpark Commons.

Also, the developers’ efforts to re- ceive city funds to help finance Ballpark Commons would need separate council approval. Those negotiations with city staffers haven’t yet resulted in a financing proposal for council review.

Zimmerman and Williams could not be reached for comment after the meeting.

The council’s 5-1 vote Tuesday morning to provide conditional zoning approval is a step forward for Ballpark Commons.

Zimmerman, who owns The Rock outdoor sports complex at S. 76th St. and W. Rawson Ave., wants to develop the neighboring 2,500seat stadium, which also would provide a new home for University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s baseball team.

Ballpark Commons would include an indoor sports complex, restaurants, stores, offices, more than 300 apartments and a hotel at The Rock and adjacent properties. The project would have an estimated $110 million to $130 million value, according to the developers.

The conditions attached by the council include a requirement for additional detailed plans before any construction can occur.

Those documents would be reviewed by city planning staffers and the Plan Commission before the Common Council considers them, according to a city report.

The developers also must provide a market analysis, including a study of the project’s fiscal impact on the city.

Other conditions include studies of the development’s effects on nearby homes from its lights and sound, and a traffic analysis.

Some nearby homeowners in both Franklin and neighboring Greendale have opposed Ballpark Commons, citing concerns about additional noise, light pollution and traffic.

Critics also have cited the presence of a former landfill at the project site. The city conditions include obtaining approval from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Zimmerman and his supporters say the project would create more tax revenue and jobs.

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