A critical step in the process of tearing down Northridge Mall was made in a court hearing today, as a judge has granted the City of Milwaukee approval to assume ownership of the property, paving the way for a planned demolition of the site.
The Milwaukee Business Journal reports Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro approved and signed the transfer of ownership to the city after a court hearing that lasted only minutes. The property has belonged to Chinese investment group U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group Incorporated since 2008, but the group did not have an attorney present at Thursday’s hearing.
U.S. Black Spruce will have 45 days to appeal the ruling. Speaking at City Hall, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson expressed confidence that U.S. Black Spruce does not have any legal recourse that could halt the ruling and further stretch out the back-and-forth court proceedings of the last five years.
“My understanding is that we’re in the clear” Johnson said. “The city now has ownership of the former mall and can now move forward with this. [As for] the appeal from Black Spruce for Judge Sosnay’s orders, I’m going to defer to the court process on that.”
Previously, Circuit Court Judge William Sosnay asked for more urgency from the city and the property’s owner toward demolishing the site.
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15 million dollars in American Rescue Plan funding administered by Governor Tony Evers will be utilized by the city to pay for the demolition process, after which the property will be slated for redevelopment. The timeline for demolition was laid out during a Zoning, Neighborhoods, and Development Committee meeting on January 9th:
As for what the future holds at the site, Mayor Johnson said there are no concrete plans, but that while work is ongoing there will be security personnel and increased fencing around the site paid for in part by the ARPA funds.
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