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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > December 11, 2007
Milwaukee council approves water talks with New Berlin
Published December 11, 2007 - BizTimes Daily
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The Milwaukee Common Council today approved a resolution directing city officials to begin discussions and negotiations related to supplying water to the City of New Berlin.
In November, the council passed a resolution that Milwaukee will not sign final agreements relating to the sale of water to communities outside the Great Lakes basin until all eight state legislatures in the Council of Great Lakes and two Canadian provinces ratify the compact protecting the region's water supply.
Today's resolution does not preclude that previous resolution, but instead merely authorizes negotiations to begin.
Most of New Berlin lies west of the subcontinental divide, which runs near Sunnyslope Road.
The council also approved a Public Works Committee recommendation calling for a more strategic approach to the Wisconsin State Department of Transportation's funding of some of the major projects affecting Milwaukee.
The resolution calls for a downsizing of the Interstate 94 project from eight lanes to six from the Mitchell Interchange to the Illinois state line. The resolution further asks for a collaborative approach and simultaneous funding of high-speed rail, light rail and the expansion and reconstruction of I-94.
The council also approved the sale of a city-owned vacant lot at 1027 N. Edison St. to clear the way for construction of a new eight-story, mixed-use development. Plans call for he former city employee parking lot to be developed into a project that will include a restaurant on the first floor, a banquet hall on the second floor, office condominiums on the third floor and residential condominiums on the fourth through eighth floors.
The structure will contain many sustainable building concepts, such as a green roof and rain garden. The portion of the property to the north of the Highland Avenue pedestrian bridge will remain an open public green space.
The buyer of the property and developer of the project is Edison Green LLC, a new entity created by Russell Davis.
Davis owns and operates Café Vecchio Mondo on Old World Third Street and is co-owner of Riverwalk Boat Rentals. He also manages the Lakefront Palm Garden at the Lakefront Brewery.
