City of Milwaukee officials hope to attract water technology businesses to a proposed business park that would be built on the vacant 17-acre Reed Street Yards site, located just south of the downtown area.

The city is proposing a $6.5 million tax incremental financing (TIF) district to create the business park on the Reed Street Yards, which is bounded roughly by South Sixth Street, South Third Street, the Menomonee River Canal and West Florida Street. The Reed Street Yards is a brownfield with poor subsoil conditions and contamination.

The TIF district also would include several vacant industrial buildings to the west of South Sixth Street, totaling about 280,000 square feet of space that were previously occupied by the Pfister & Vogel Tannery.

The Reed Street Yards and the former tannery buildings are owned by Peter Moede of Milwaukee-based Atlas Development Corp., who under the proposal would partner with Fox Point-based General Capital Group LLC to develop and market the business park. Moede also owns and manages The Tannery office complex nearby at South Seventh Street and West Virginia Street.

About $4.3 million of the TIF funds would be used to build public infrastructure to prepare the site for redevelopment, including extension of public streets, sewer and water pipes, dockwall improvements and a riverwalk. The TIF district also would provide grants for site and environmental remediation costs as individual buildings are constructed.

The TIF funds also would be used to create a pool of incentive funds to attract water-based technology businesses to the business park.

"This project has tremendous potential to complement our region's efforts to build its water technology industry," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. "The Reed Street Yards offers companies in this cluster an outstanding location, near the UW-Milwaukee Water Institute, MMSD and downtown, as well as excellent freeway visibility and access to air, rail and water transport. The project also builds on development momentum in the Fifth Ward area such as the Harley-Davidson Museum and the Iron Horse Hotel."

"This property is the largest developable parcel on the near south side, and it has been underused for years," said Ald. Jim Witkowiak, whose district includes the Reed Street Yards. "The creation of a business park on this property will add significant jobs to this area, and I expect it also will spur additional development to the east and southeast."

The proposal for the TIF district will be reviewed by the city's Redevelopment Authority on Aug. 20. The Common Council will consider the project in September. If approved, construction of infrastructure is expected to begin in 2010.