NWSCDC

Tower Automotive: OK. We Own it. What now?

The City of Milwaukee announced that it had agreed in principle with the owners of the former Tower Automotive/A.O. Smith site to purchase the remaining 84 of 148 acres for redevelopment. Both sides have much to do, especially the City. It will need to go through an arduous approval process, but it will get done. Everyone wants this done, and it will be by the end of the year.

Now what?

DCD has not released its plans. We suspect that there is more in writing than they are letting on. After all, they've had over a decade to plan for this day. We sat down with former Mayor Norquist in 1999 and urged him and his administration to hurry the process along. It was obvious that Tower was leaving Milwaukee. The only question was, when. I have had numerous discussions with Mayor Barrett, Rocky Marcoux and other members of the Barrett economic development team since before the Mayor was elected to office, about Tower and its importance to Milwaukee.

The split between the owners and the City was bitter and protracted but now it is finally over and we can all get to work. I want to commend all sides for finally bringing this issue to an end.

It's not too late to make something really important to the neighborhood---and it's not too early to begin discussions with the City as to what we, the various stakeholders in the community, want to see happen out there.

There are recent and successful models of community participation, and serious community based organization involvement. Some CBOs bring significant financial and important resources to major projects like this. We have heard a lot over the past few years that the City's budget is shrinking and that we, the taxpayers, will have to pay more and see reduced services. A project like this, as expensive and time consuming as it will no doubt get, should beg for folks with money and resources to come to the "table".

We are committed to several key points. The most important is that whoever is in charge of planning, be on the right side of history. Unlike the Menomonee Valley, residents have lived in the AO Smith/Tower community, in the shadows of the plant, for generations. They deserve to be part of the planning...have some say-so. Not just a perfunctory visit to a church or senior center to tell the residents what will happen. Real back and forth and an open and transparent opportunity to plan for THEIR future and the future for decades to come.

Tower is the North Side's Miller Park. It's Calatrava, or Riverwalk. These are projects that have changed Milwaukee. Tower can too if we do it right. Do it right, and nothing will ever be the same. Do it wrong, and nothing will ever change!

Howard Snyder