Dear Mayor Barrett, Alderman Kovac, Ms. Fuhr and City Planning Administrator,

The purpose of this letter is to express our opposition to the sale and rezoning of the land bounded by N. Murray and N. Farwell and E. Thomas on the Eastside. The Mercy Housing project does not represent the kind of development and neighborhood enhancement activities which drew the residents to the area.  I have provided several issues for consideration as a decision of this magnitude is made in our neighborhood.

I would also ask that the decision making body reflect on the issues we are presently experiencing with the Eastside Rehabilitation Center (located on Summit and Woodstock) for which the surrounding neighbors have been working unsuccessfully to get resolution for several years and should be considered before bringing another low-income institution into the area:

• Noise, prostitution and illegal drug trafficking in the parking lot
• Lack of infrastructure to support the operations:

• No loading zone which results in Summit being blocked for several hours by large delivery vehicles.
• Movement of deceased residents on the sidewalk and down the street to the Hearst.
• Insufficient parking for employees and no drop-off zone, which results in blocked driveways and spill over into the street and sidewalk.

• Poorly managed operations resulting in residents wandering around the neighborhood inappropriately dressed, lost or disruptive.

The Mercy Housing project,is not the best use of such a prominent location:

• The design and materials may not be of high quality
• The government should not be subsidizing and enabling more rental housing when so much is already available
• The city is not taking advantage of an opportunity to use this prominent location for something special as intended:

• The U.S. Bank parking lot was specifically listed as a good location for a boutique hotel/condo development, not tax-credit housing.
• No new tax-credit housing was recommended for this site or anywhere in this area.
• The proposal includes abrupt and inappropriate transitions to the existing residential area and to smaller-scale commercial uses.

Finally, this decision is being made at a time when people are distracted with the upcoming holiday.  It appears that the decision makers are deliberately taking this decision during a time when the residents are not available to provide their input.  There has been consistent and significant  opposition to this project by the Historic Water Tower Neighborhood association.  I ask you -- if this is such a good idea, why the sudden urgency to make a decision? Let the process work with integrity and transparency -- this is a long-term impact to our neighborhood.


Best Regards,


Mary Ann Wright
Vice President
Technology and Innovation
Power Solutions
Johnson Controls Inc.
5757 N. Green Bay Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53201

Office: 414-524-3534