From:	Bohl, James
Sent:	Thursday, March 03, 2016 3:53 PM
To:	Lee, Chris
Subject:	Fwd: Planned develpment for 1550 N. Prospect

For file. 
 
Sent from my iPad
 
Begin forwarded message:
From: Ellen Driscoll <elledriscoll@gmail.com> 
Date: March 3, 2016 at 2:51:30 PM CST 
To: jbohl@milwaukee.gov, joseg.perez@milwaukee.gov, 
rjbauma@milwaukee.gov,  nkovac@milwaukee.gov, 
Russell.stamper@milwaukee.gov 
Subject: Planned develpment for 1550 N. Prospect
Dear Members of the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee,
    I am writing to express my concern re the proposed development at 1550 N. 
Prospect, the Goll Mansion site.  I realize this property is prime for development, 
and in fact would look forward to someone taking on the return of the Historic 
Goll Mansion to it's historic legacy. But the current proposal is too large; the scale 
of it would make a mockery of the Mansion and impinge on the park like nature 
of the Lake Path. 
     I do not feel that addition of a 200 unit apartment building in a neighborhood 
already at a peak for street parking, traffic, and available apt buildings is a good 
fit. In the blocks between this site and Park Lafayette, there is seldom more than a 
few available parking spots on the street - worse in winter. Although this building 
would have indoor parking available, how many leasers, and their visitors would 
be able to take advantage of them. The drive entrance provides little space for 
work vehicles, moving vans, which would further impact the flow of traffic on 
Prospect. Add a streetcar extension to that mix?   I have counted 39 apt buildings 
between 1550 and Park Lafayette - of these, 50 percent are actively advertising 
vacancies available. How would this impact ability for these older buildings to 
remain viable?
     I like the older character of the buildings on Prospect, and feel that a new 
development should fit in, reflecting the older charm of what was the Gold 
Coast.  The current proposal looms high above current skyline, and pushes back 
onto the bluff farther than the surrounding buildings. I have concerns about 
maintaining the integrity of the bluff - knowing that Landmark already had to 
shore up their eastern wall. Most of the adjacent properties have placed a deck on 
the bluff side, lessening stress on the bluff. I am also concerned about the idea to 
move the Goll Mansion, not once but twice. I have seen assurances that this can 
be safely accomplished, or would this be comparable to a recent experience in the 
Third Ward, where avoiding fixing a leaky roof led to the developer having to 
demolish a historic building.   
  I reside at 1522 on the Lake, and would be directly affected by this development. 
Although I acknowledge my view cannot be protected, this building as proposed 
would significantly affect my assessed value. Consulting with a long time realtor 
specializing in Downtown condos, he predicts I could lose up to $20K in my 
condo value. Multiply this times the 32 units of our building that are on the 
northeast side, and it will impact the City tax base as well. I realize developing the 
property at 1550 would have a positive impact for the City, but not at the expense 
of those of us who call this neighborhood home.  I ask you to consider saying NO 
to  the development in it's current form. 
Ellen Driscoll