Richard "Rocky" Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development, recently sent a letter to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, expressing "concern" about the lack of progress in attracting development to county-owned properties in the Park East Freeway corridor in downtown Milwaukee.

"I am eager to see visible construction activity on the vacant property that has been sold or optioned by Milwaukee County," Marcoux stated in the letter.

City officials are moving other projects in corridor area forward, Marcoux said in his letter. The city-prompted projects include: tax incremental financing (TIF) for the redevelopment of the former Pabst brewery property located on the west end of the corridor, by Joseph Zilber; the redevelopment of the former Pfister & Vogel tannery at the east end of the Park East corridor by Mandel Group; TIF funding and construction of the new Manpower Inc. headquarters; and the construction of The Flatiron, a five-story building with 38 condominiums on a 10,000-square-foot lot formerly owned by the city at 1541 N. Jefferson St., by Deerfield, Ill.-based Legacy Real Estate Development LLC.

However, most of the land where the Park East Freeway once stood is owned by Milwaukee County. The county has been selling its property piece by piece.

So far, no development has begun on any of the county-owned properties.

The County Board adopted the Park East Redevelopment Compact (PERC) for reviewing developments on the county-owned land in the Park East corridor. The PERC requires developers to pay union-scale wages for construction projects on the county land. In addition, the PERC indicates that developers that hire local employees, provide job training or create green space would by more likely to be selected. However, developers criticized the PERC, saying it would discourage development. The Milwaukee Common Council rejected a proposal similar to the PERC.

"I am concerned that the multi-layered process established by Milwaukee County to sell property and approve projects is contributing to delays in development," Marcoux stated in his letter. "The procedural complexities that delay project approval appear to impede closure of the land sale and achievement of our shared development goals for this property."

Marcoux also expressed concern that developers of the county-owned land will be seeking tax incremental financing (TIF) assistance from the city.

"By spending nearly $20 million in design, demolition and infrastructure improvements, the City of Milwaukee effectively absorbed the risks involved in making county-owned land marketable. Now it is time for Milwaukee County to step up as a true partner in this effort by streamlining land sales and development approvals and using flexible land pricing if necessary to realize the potential of this property," Marcoux said.

Walker was not available for comment on Marcoux's letter. Harold Mester, spokesman for the county board, said this morning that the board chairman had not yet received the letter and could not comment on it.