MILWAUKEE – A judge sided with the city of Milwaukee on Monday when he ruled that the owner of the former Northridge Mall would have to secure the site or pay a hefty fine.
Judge William Sosnay ordered U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group Inc. to secure the property by Friday or face fines of up to $2,000 per day until the building has been secured.
The mall closed in 2003 and was purchased by U.S. Black Spruce in 2008.
In 2019, a judge ordered the building razed but that ruling was overturned in March of this year.
That 2019 order has been scheduled for review at a hearing which will be held on October 3, 2022.
Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski has been extremely vocal about the risks posed by the vacant building, which has been the site of four arson fires in as many weeks.
Lipski told WTMJ’s Jeff Wagner that each of those incidents puts the lives of his firefighters at risk, and said he wants the building torn down.