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| | 1. | | Call to order.
Minutes note: Meeting called to order at 1:38 p.m. | | | |
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| | 2. | | Roll call. | | | |
Roll call
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| | 3. | | Review and approval of the previous meeting minutes.
Minutes note: Meeting minutes from June 28, 2019 were approved without objection. | | | |
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| | 4. | | Introduction to the Granville Business Improvement District.
Minutes note: Individual appearing:
Mary Hoehne, Granville BID #48
Ms. Hoehne gave an overview. The BID was formed 7 years ago out of the Granville Brown Deer Chamber. Purpose of the BID is to levy tax assessments to commercial businesses to help pay for beautification and other initiatives to improve the area of the district. Focus of the BID is on the industrial manufacturing base that makes up 80 percent of the BID. Major contributions from the BID to improve the area has been to reduce crime, improve streets, and improve landscaping. Crime has been and continues to be a main concern for the BID and stakeholders. The BID has helped stop car thefts, break ins, and provided parking patrols. The BID also assists in economic redevelopment, workforce development, marketing and promotion, and various events. Events have included car shows, blues and jazz festivals, and pop ups. Forthcoming next year is the Granville Connection development, which would be a hub for entrepreneurs, retail, events, and the Democratic National Convention. Vice chair Hill is the Community Director for the BID.
Members questioned BID expansion, job creation, the Granville Brown Deer Chamber, and a listing of businesses.
Ms. Hoehne replied. There is anticipation to expand the BID boundaries to 124th St. Current BID boundaries go to Good Hope Rd., 95th St., and the industrial park. About 37,000 jobs are within the BID district. The Granville Brown Deer Chamber will not be brought back. The BID does not have a listing of businesses but rather has a listing of addresses only. The BID does not have the capacity and priority at this time to do a listing of businesses within the BID district. Property owners are the members of the BID, do not necessarily reflect the businesses tenants, and may be from out of town.
Chair Hinton said that it would be advantageous and a benefit to everyone to have a listing of businesses to acquire insight about the business sector makeup of the area. | | | |
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| | 5. | | Review of Granville area plan, charrette, and market study.
Minutes note: Individual appearing:
Sam Leichtling, Dept. of City Development (DCD)
Mr. Leichtling gave a PowerPoint presentation overview of the plan. He was involved with the Granville action area plan that was initiated when Ald. Lewis came into office. The vision was to find strategic ways to fill vacant spaces within the district. A market study found that the retail market has shrunken in the area, full retail spaces could not be replaced, there was a high retail vacancy rate, increased competition, relatively low population density, obsolescence of older retail centers, and that other uses would need to fill retail spaces. Data analysis show that increased industrial uses produce jobs with higher pay for employees when compared to retail jobs. Opportunities exist for outlot performance, strong anchors, non retail potential, strong industrial demand, and potential for senior housing. Recommendations include retail realignment (focus at outlots and key nodes); options for service, institutional, and entertainment options; preparation for industrial redevelopment; potential senior housing, and improving perceptions. A charrette was formed with an architectural team and the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee to produce the plan by looking at existing retail sites and envisioning possible redevelopment scenarios.
Members discussed the importance of and inquired about the City's role to attract industrial development, the ability for the committee to have purview over businesses coming into the area, the status of the Northridge mall site, purview over tenancy, addressing code violations, business possibilities (healthcare, schools, social service) for the district, and incentives to hire from the community.
Ms. Hoehne said that many property owners are out of town investors and may not show proper efforts or care to maintain their sites.
Mr. Leichtling replied. The City can use its zoning tools to bring in more industrial development by allowing the applicable retail zoned sites to be rezoned to industrial. Examples include the old Target store site and anticipated Northridge Mall site. Additionally, the City has jurisdiction on licensing and Board of Zoning Appeals variances. The advisory committee can play a role and be advisory with respects to these aspects. There is a City raze order on the mall due to its nuisance and debilitated condition. The mall property owners are legally fighting the raze order. A big single use for the mall site would not be feasible; instead, the vision is for a campus. The City owns the ring of roads around the mall and Boston Store. The City plans to dedicate the ring of roads to be the public right of way. New tenants would have the right to come into existing sites without any special approval if their use conforms to the existing zoning for that site, and landlords would have discretion on tenancy. The City has the ability to assist and improve businesses relative to signage, facade, parking lot, rehabilitation, and landscaping through its various commercial grant assistance programs. The City does not own any parking lots within the district. Levy of fines and ultimately raze orders can be issued for properties, including parking lots with weeds, through code enforcement by the Dept. of Neighborhood Services (DNS). It is encouraged for people to request for service or file complaints with DNS to prompt inspections of code violations. Recommendations of the charrette and plan were to be flexible and not be prescriptive. Healthcare is a priority and is lacking. Schools in the area have expressed the need to transition students into the workforce. Social services are an ongoing need. Youth services and recreation is also a need. A strategy is to assist existing agencies to do programming for these sectors. The City does have the ability to require Residence Preference Program (RPP) participation hiring of local residents for the construction phases of development projects that receive City assisted financing; however, the City cannot require RPP participation for the operations of those developments.
Mr. Leichtling continued with the presentation. Supporting strategies of the plan would include prioritizing architectural, urban design and streetscaping improvements; creating a connected greenway and bikeway; protecting and stabilizing residential housing and neighborhoods; and strengthening neighborhood identity via marketing and branding. Implementation of the plan would involve the Granville BID with marketing, beautification, and recruitment; the City with zoning changes, signage code review, and proactive policing; and other partners on workforce development, greening initiatives, and housing initiatives. | | | |
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| | 6. | | Review of or updates on DCD Commercial Corridor grants.
Minutes note: Individual appearing:
Terence Acquah, DCD Commercial Corridor Team
Chair Hinton said that residential development is also important for the committee to consider due to both impacting and being impacted by commercial development.
Mr. Acquah said that although the focus of the advisory committee is on commercial development, there can be further discussion to expand focus to residential development.
Mr. Acquah gave an overview on the different types of grant programs through the DCD Commercial Corridor office as follows:
The programs help to attract and support businesses with grant funding. DCD works with the BIDs and local alderpersons. Ald. Lewis has expressed the continued need for retailers in the district. A focus is to concentrate on assisting local home grown retail businesses. He can routinely come present to the committee about businesses within the area that are applying for these grants to give the committee a sense of activity in the area and for the committee's input and recommendation. The City grant programs are signage, facade, whitebox, and retail investment fund (RIF).
The signage grant is for 50 percent of eligible expenses for minimum project costs of $2,000 up to a maximum of $2,500. Internally lit box signs are not eligible. Eligible signs are channel letter, awning, monument, neon, custom, and hanging signs. Assisting national franchises is discouraged but can be done as an exception, such as the Dunkin' Donuts sign on N. 76th St.
The facade grant is for 50 percent of eligible expenses for minimum project costs of $2,000 up to a maximum of $5,000 per storefront or public street facing facade. Eligible expenses are windows, doors, awnings, and major facade alterations. Also included are lighting, fencing, awnings, and landscaping if part of a larger project.
The whitebox grant is for 50 percent of eligible expenses with a limit of $10 per square foot and a maximum of $25,000. Eligible expenses are ceiling, base flooring, rough carpentry, drywall, electric, plumbing, and HVAC. Cannot be combined with the RIF grant and must be an existing commercial space. The grant helps to bring vacant properties to use.
The RIF grant is a local resident employment incentive, for 20 percent of eligible expenses with $5,000 per full time or full time equivalent up to a maximum of $50,000, and for for profit retail projects in commercial corridors. Applicants may own or lease. Eligible expenses include buildout, architecture, engineering, furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
All grants are reimbursements. Any work on a project that starts before an application is approved is not eligible for reimbursement. Applicants are encouraged to consult the Development Center on their projects. Submission requirements include a completed application, lease or written consent from owner, documentation to illustrate visual impact of the proposed project, two competitive proposals, site visit conducted by DCD to verify existing conditions, code violations and taxes checked by DCD, and W9 form. Ineligible properties include those with tax delinquency; code violations; pending litigation, condemnation, or receivership; ownership by religious groups, nonprofit use; and exclusively residential buildings. Ineligible organizations and businesses are non profit agencies, entities or businesses; schools; day care centers; currency exchanges; taverns, liquor stores, gun shops, pawnshops, and cash for gold businesses.
Mr. Acquah added that there have been grants done within the district, he can provide a list of those grants to the committee for the last five years, and that they always look to leverage the grants with other programs.
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| | 7. | | Review and approval of a scoring rubric.
Minutes note: Mr. Lee commented. The advisory committee instructed for there to be a survey rubric for the committee to use to review and evaluate projects that come before them. The rubric before the committee for its consideration mimics the rubric of the Bronzeville Advisory Committee, which was a recommendation from the last meeting. The first two pages would be informational and the last page would be for the committee to use for its evaluation.
Members discussed to include on the rubric the motivation or intent of property acquisition; past experience, projects, or investment within the Granville Development District or Milwaukee; and the status or outcomes of those projects or investment; to modify the rubric as necessary going forward; and to format the rubric towards a single proposal rather than for multiple proposals since most matters to come before the committee would not be competing ones.
Member Duckworth moved approval, seconded by vice chair Hill, of the rubric with the amendment to add additional criteria as discussed by the committee. There was no objection.
Members, staff, and participants discussed that the rubric should be sent to the development team of a proposed development project or business for their completion and submittal to the committee for the committee's advanced review prior to a meeting. | | | |
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| | 8. | | Announcements.
Minutes note: There were no announcements. | | | |
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| | 9. | | Set next meeting date and time.
Minutes note: a. Friday, August 9, 2019 at 9 a.m.
Members said to cancel the August 9th meeting and reschedule for a different date to be determined offline. | | | |
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| | 10. | | Agenda items for the next meeting.
Minutes note: Agenda items for next meeting to include review of the Granville Connection project, revisiting the role of the committee, and revisiting the boundaries of the Granville Development District. | | | |
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| | 11. | | Adjournment.
Minutes note: Meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.
Chris Lee, Staff Assistant
Council Records Section
City Clerk's Office | | | |
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