&EPA
KING AND HADLEY PROPERTY
EPA 560-F-10-221
July 2010
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cleanup Grant
In Milwaukee, King Commons Leads Development of the Historic King Drive Neighborhood
ADDRESS: 2774 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive,
Milwaukee, Wl 53212
PROPERTY SIZE: 0.64 Acres
FORMER USE: Mixed use, including residential, auto repair,
and dry cleaning
CURRENT USE: Commercial and residential
EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
The City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
received a $400,000 Cleanup grant
in September 2003.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
Redevelopment Authority of the City of
Milwaukee; Martin Luther King Economic
Development Corp.; King
Drive Commons, LLC
For additional data and geographic information for this and other
Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA's Cleanups in My Community:
http://iaspub.epa.gov/Cleanups/
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
The King and Hadley property is part of the historic King Drive neighborhood, located immediately north of downtown Milwaukee.
Encompassed by the city's Harambee area, which is Swahili for "pulling together," this neighborhood of more than 20,000 residents
has served as the community's commercial center for generations. The 0.64-acre King and Hadley property was once comprised
of nine separate parcels used for a number of purposes over the past decades, including residential, auto repair, and dry cleaning
facilities. By the early 1990s the property had become mostly idle and fallen into disrepair, prompting the Redevelopment Authority of
the City of Milwaukee (RACM) to perform preliminary assessments; the RACM ultimately acquired the property through an adverse
condemnation action in 1997. After taking ownership, the city performed a series of progressively more detailed assessments that
revealed petroleum, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminating the property's
soil and ground water. In total, RACM spent $ 150,000 on assessments, demolition of structures, and the removal of underground
storage tanks. These assessments were completed in 2003.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Leveraged $3.6 million to develop 6,000 square feet of street-level commercial
space and 42 new apartment units, with 24 additional units planned.
• Created a residential and commercial facility on a former brownfield, with a modern,
pedestrian-friendly design, and spurred additional development in the area.
• Received the 2005 Mayor's Urban Design Award and the 2006 State Farm
Insurance Building Blocks Award for Small Projects.
OUTCOME:
Residential and commercial development on Milwaukee's
King and Hadley property.
Using the 2003 EPA Cleanup grant and $31,000 in additional funding from RACM,
cleanup was completed in March 2005. These efforts included the removal of more
than 3,000 tons of contaminated soil and installation of a vapor mitigation barrier. By this point the property had been purchased by
King Drive Commons, LLC, which began a $3.6 million redevelopment project with assistance from the Martin Luther King Economic
Development Corporation, a local community development corporation that ensured that the community was represented throughout
the planning process. Redevelopment was completed only a few months later, in August 2005. The new complex features 6,000 square
feet of street-level commercial space and 42 housing rental units on the upper floors. Additional, future construction will create another
24 rental units. This redevelopment project received the 2005 Mayor's Urban Design award and the 2006 State Farm Insurance
Building Blocks Award for Small Projects, and was featured in a nationally released video on green buildings and sustainable design. The
property's reuse is just one component of the redevelopment of the historic King Drive Business Improvement District (BID); in just
the past ten years, the historic King Drive BID has had over $200 million worth of new development, bringing customers to King Drive
businesses and enhancing the area's economic outlook.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 5 at (3 12) 886-6543
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