City financing approved for Harbor District projects

Two big developments planned for Milwaukee’s Harbor District — both anchored by corporate offices — would get city financing help under plans that received preliminary approval Tuesday.

The projects, led by Komatsu Mining Corp. and Michels Corp., together would receive up to $47 million in city cash. That would come from new property tax revenue created by those developments.

Together, Komatsu’s future global headquarters and River 1, a mixed-use development featuring Michels’ Milwaukee-area office, would bring initial investments of $334 million to the Harbor District.

The Harbor District is about 1,000 acres bordered roughly by South First Street, the lakefront, the Milwaukee River and Bay Street/Becher Street.

The district land and water use plan, approved this year by the Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett, calls for converting empty lots and other sites into such new uses as light industrial buildings, offices, housing, retail space and parks.

The council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee is now recommending approval for helping finance the Komatsu and Michels projects. The full council will review those recommendations at its Dec. 18 meeting.

Komatsu headquarters

The Komatsu project is the larger of the two developments and drew the most questions from committee members.

It would be the largest industrial development in Milwaukee in decades, and currently could be the nation’s