Community Within the Corridor developer settles with residents displaced over carcinogen

Alison Dirr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·3 min read

Residents who were displaced from an affordable housing development on Milwaukee's north side due to elevated levels of a cancer-causing chemical have reached a settlement agreement with the developer, court records show.

The agreement comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed ban on all uses of the chemical that caused the evacuation, calling trichloroethylene, or TCE, "an extremely toxic chemical known to cause serious health risks including cancer, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity." The solvent is commonly used for cleaning and degreasing.

More than 150 residents of Community Within The Corridor East Block, 3100 W. Center St., were ordered to evacuate in late March due to elevated levels of TCE at the building that was once part of the Briggs & Stratton complex.

A 67-unit apartment community at 2758 N. 33rd St. is part of the Community Within The Corridor mixed use development on West Center Street near North 33rd Street and North 32nd Street in Milwaukee on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. More than 150 residents of the apartment project were ordered to evacuate their apartments on March 25 after dangerous levels of a cancer-causing chemical were found, according to an emergency DNR order obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

Residents were later told by city and state officials that they would not be able to move back in before January 2024.

Attorney Michael Cerjak, on behalf of Community within the Corridor East Block resident Tiffany Bowen, in June filed a class action lawsuit that accused the developer of failing to disclose and misrepresenting the contamination at the site.

In all, residents of 21 units are considered part of the "class," or group, to which the settlement with the Community Within the Corridor Limited Partnership applies, according to an affidavit Cerjak filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Not represented as part of the lawsuit are residents of 37 other units who agreed to a voluntary lease termination from the developers. Under that agreement, they received $5,000 in compensation but also gave up any right to sue the developer in the future.

The case is being heard by Judge Thomas McAdams. A hearing on a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement is scheduled for Nov. 6.

Through mediation, the two sides reached a settlement that would provide the represented residents $25,000 per unit. They would also retain the ability to later sue over TCE-related death, injury or economic damages from a death or injury.

"(The settlement) resolves displacement damages for these folks, but it preserves the right for people to bring claims relative to exposure to TCE," Cerjak told the Journal Sentinel.

Separate from the payments to residents, Community Within the Corridor would also pay up to $182,500 for the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees, costs and expenses.

And, as part of the settlement, Community Within the Corridor would deny any liability and be released from all settled claims.

In the affidavit, Cerjak wrote that he found residents were concerned about preserving their right to sue if they develop health problems as a result of their exposure to TCE. And, he wrote, many were concerned about their housing.

"Many of the displaced residents have rent subsidized through affordable housing programs, and the application, approval and placement process for such programs can take significant time," he wrote in the document dated Oct. 17. "Some have not yet found stable housing, others are living with family members or friends, and the majority need access to resources, many desperately so."

He said Monday it is important to have nice, affordable housing in the city. He said he hoped Community Within the Corridor could remediate the building in short order that no one develops any adverse health effects.

Scott Crawford Inc., the development firm of the project's lead developer Que El-Amin, worked with local investors Mikal Wesley, president of Urbane Communities LLC, and Rayhainio "Ray Nitti" Boynes, who operates The Creative Corridor Inc. The local developers in 2017 also partnered with Minneapolis-based apartment development firm Roers Co.

"The parties and their legal counsel are pleased they were able to amicably and expeditiously resolve the lawsuit and believe that this settlement, which is subject to court approval, is fair, reasonable and serves the best interests of all parties," CWC spokesperson Phill Trewyn said in a statement. "The parties share optimism for the future of the Community Within the Corridor project and a desire for the continued development of quality affordable housing in neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee."

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Community Within the Corridor developer settles with displaced residents