City confident in its moves to revitalize DPW site, festival grounds
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in chief
As the city’s former Department of Public Works facility on Milwaukee Avenue disappeared piece-by-piece at the hands of a demolition crew the past two weeks, it closed a turbulent year during which the building became the eye of a storm swirling around the property’s future use.
In the end, however, most city officials feel satisfied they accomplished their main objectives: obtaining market value for the part of the property that fronts Milwaukee Avenue; and securing the rest of the site for long-term use by ChocolateFest, the city’s marquee festival and a major fundraiser for local organizations.
In October, the City Council accepted an offer to purchase the Milwaukee Avenue frontage parcel from a Missouri real estate company that plans to develop it into an O’Reilly Auto Parts store after the sale closes in June 2012.
“We can go ahead now and get it torn down and make it commercially viable and get it back on the tax rolls,” Mayor Bob Miller said in October. “It’s another eyesore off Milwaukee Avenue.”
Officials have said the sale price of $475,000 is roughly what the city was expecting to get for the site when it began negotiating in late 2010 with two local businessmen who expressed interest in the frontage parcel and the adjacent festival grounds, which are also owned by the city.
But potential deals with both parties fell through in February amid accusations and finger pointing that prevented both offers from garnering enough support among aldermen to earn approval. Critics assailed a deal backed by ChocolateFest as having been the result of unfair insider negotiations and the competing offer failed to gain traction over fears that it would not sufficiently preserve the site for ChocolateFest use.
Questions regarding the festival grounds, however, were answered in July when the city approved a 30-year lease with ChocolateFest for the use of the property.
Satisfied the property – the majority of which is a former landfill – is secure as a festival and recreation destination, ChocolateFest officials said they might be able to consider improvements such as a restroom facility in the future.
As part of that deal, ChocolateFest agreed to demolish the buildings on the site at a cost estimated between $45,000 and $65,000. In return, the city forgave ChocolateFest’s two remaining lease payments totaling $26,645.
Miller said last July he was satisfied the deal was in the best interest of residents because the city received a net savings of at least $20,000 on the demolition of the building and the future festival – which pumps hundreds of thousands of dollars back into the community through payments to the local service organizations that staff the festival – was secure.
The final piece of the puzzle then fell into place two months ago when the city accepted the offer for the commercial site at the front of the property.
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