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Demolition of a city-owned home at 3347 N. 26th St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The proposed budget amendment would strip away some of the $3.3 million Mayor Cavalier Johnson plans to spend on demolishing 180 homes and give it to individuals to buy or repair city-owned homes.
The proposal will be introduced by Councilman Robert Baumann and was first unveiled at Monday’s Capital Improvements Committee meeting.
Mr Baumann said of Prime Minister Johnson’s “destroy and rebuild” strategy: “We are rushing to demolish things, which I think is extremely unwise in most cases.” “We boast of destruction and resurrection, but in my eyes there is no resurrection.”
Bauman said he would request that $150,000 be reallocated to the Housing Infrastructure Conservation Fund. This fund is used to provide forgivable loans to purchasers of municipal housing that require major renovations.
Established in 2009, the fund has funded about 50 homes at an average cost of about $70,000.
“The tax base of all these properties is about $6 million, and our investment is about $3 million.Given the fact that many of these properties would have had a zero tax base, there was a need. , I think this is a program that deserves some funding to address certain properties that present unique circumstances,” Bauman said.
The councilman cited the success of current and former Hunger Task Force CEO Shelly Tassler in the sale and restoration of the fire-damaged municipal housing complex at 3405 W. St. Paul Ave. She was tired of looking at houses on the same block.
“With a $25,000 investment, we went from a $0 valuation to a $150,000 valuation,” Bauman said. Bauman said the city awarded Tassler $25,000 plus the cost of the home because $25,000 is the average cost to demolish a home. Mr. Tassler sold it for $155,000, but it is now valued at $175,800.
Budget Director Nick Kovacs said the city plans to eliminate the backlog of demolition candidates by 2037 by demolishing 180 homes a year, adding, “Currently, we have a backlog of 360 homes. There is,” he said. Demolition orders are issued on approximately 150 properties each year.
However, Bauman pointed out that the city rates public and private candidates, and many of the candidates rated “medium” or lower are rehabilitation candidates.
“What’s the resurrection side of this equation?” asked Bauman, the city’s budget official. He said the strategy would leave vacant land with “little to no prospect” of new housing being built.
He pointed out that organizations like Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity are building new homes, but not replacing them at the same pace as they are demolishing them. The organization has built 80 homes in Harambee over the years and is building another 80 homes in the area west of King Park. The city is funding the latter effort, with plans to build 32 homes in 2024.
The Community Development Alliance is using one-time federal funds allocated by the city, county and state for several projects, including the construction of 45 homes for early childhood educators.
The city also has some unique initiatives. At the end of 2021, Bauman led the council’s adoption of the Homes MKE initiative, which allocated $15 million in federal funds to sell and renovate 150 municipal housing units. But the program is a one-time, multi-year effort.
More homes on the demolition list, both publicly and privately owned, have been repaired than in previous years. Property owners subject to a forfeiture order enter into a remediation agreement with the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS).
“Right now we have 39 homes, which is a really good thing, because at this time last year we had 12,” DNS Supervisor Chris Craco said Sept. 23 at the Abandoned and Foreclosed Housing Redevelopment Joint Council. stated in the committee. It’s being repaired over there. ”
Department of Urban Development Deputy Commissioner Vanessa Coster said the incident was part of a focus on inspecting properties on the demolition list of homes in the same blocks that are being renovated as part of Homes MKE. said.
Koster said a new web page mapping the list of publicly owned property raids has resulted in four sales and two more are in the works. “The coordination and cooperation between city departments has been very successful,” she said.
Deputy Treasurer Jim Kreibord said rising home prices are likely a factor in part, making renovation projects more viable.
“Absolutely. This is the last time this number has been this high since 2010,” Krako said.
However, despite all efforts, more new vacant land is still being created than new housing.
“If we maintain the same rate of demolition versus new construction, we are essentially liquidating the city’s housing stock,” Bauman said Monday.
If his amendment, which is scheduled to be considered by the Finance and Human Resources Committee on Oct. 31, is successful, that would be the only money that would go to the preservation fund.
Kovacs said there is currently no money in the 2025 budget for the program because DCD has not requested it.
Demolition progresses little by little
Bauman’s advocacy for reducing home demolition also extends to how homes are demolished.
Demolition rather than demolition means demolishing the house rather than tearing it down. However, DNS has been unable to get the program up and running, leaving approximately $700,000 unspent in a dedicated fund.
The new request for proposals is intended to give the program another shot.
The original demolition plan, first proposed in 2018, called for the city to demolish the homes piece by piece to create a market, rather than demolishing the homes. Private owners demolishing properties will also be required to demolish homes built before 1930. This vision called for creating more jobs rather than mechanical demolition, while replacing the cost of landfill disposal with new sources of income from the sale of salvaged wood and other materials.
The first contractor started with a lot of fanfare, but was subsequently terminated and eventually sued for nonperformance. The second case took months of paperwork delays and then over a year to close on 10 homes. Bids for additional contracts were held for two consecutive years, but in both cases the winning bidder did not conclude the contract. No bids were made in 2023.
Many of the concerns relate to employment requirements imposed as part of the contract process. Many City Council members were concerned about removing the requirement, fearing it would apply to other city projects.
A late 2023 deal with Northcott Neighborhood House, which was seen as a potential savior to the contract requirements issue, did not materialize.
The call for proposals for another attempt at demolition is scheduled to close on November 4th. Krako said the revised RFP seeks input from contractors to make the initiative work.
2025 City of Milwaukee Budget Details
Learn more about the 2025 City of Milwaukee budget here.
Click here for more information on demolition ordinances
Amendment would shift funding from residential demolition to rehabilitation – Jeramy Janen – October 23, 2024 Tentative agreement would provide relief to Milwaukee’s demolition program – Jeramy Janen – October 25, 2023 In Milwaukee Eyes on: Demolition ordinance suspended again – Jeramy Janen – March 17, 2023 Eyes on Milwaukee: Demolition plans suspended again – Jeramy Janen – February 14, 2022 Eyes on Milwaukee: Demolition Policies remain, well… demolished – Jeramie Janen – December 13, 2021 Looking at Milwaukee: New demolition plan moves forward – Jeramie Janen – February 2, 2021 Eye on Milwaukee: City is new – Jeramy Janen – October 12, 2020 Attention Milwaukee: City moves to fire demolition contractor – Jeramy Janen – March 2, 2020 Attention Milwaukee: Demolition contractors slow work – Jeramy Janen – January 27, 2020 Looking to Milwaukee: Urban demolition postponed until 2020 – Jeramy Janen – January 14, 2020
Click here for more information on demolition ordinances
