An effort to redevelop a site in Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley is getting a big boost with a $3.2 million federal grant. It is beneath I-43.

Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
The 15-acre Kneeland Properties, overlooking the Menomonee River near I-43's High Rise Bridge, is being targeted for future light industrial development.
The 15-acre Kneeland Properties, overlooking the Menomonee River near I-43's High Rise Bridge, is being targeted for future light industrial development.

An effort to redevelop a site in Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley is getting a big boost with a $3.2 million federal grant.

It will be used to build streets and other public improvements tied to the Kneeland Properties site, according to the Wednesday announcement from the Department of City Development.

That 15-acre site is between West Mt. Vernon Avenue and the Menomonee River, east of Standard Electric Supply Co., 222 N. Emmber Lane.

About 10 acres are owned by the city, with 5 acres beneath I-43's High Rise Bridge owned by the state Department of Transportation.

The Kneeland Properties site, which is isolated from the city's streets, was used as a coal storage yard for nearly a century and is now dormant.

More: Downtown's Park East Freeway was replaced with a boulevard and new development. Some now want to take down I-794 as DOT considers repairs.

The city Redevelopment Authority and others have been preparing the sites for redevelopment by removing environmental contamination, planning for roads and other infrastructure, and recruiting prospects for light industrial development, according to DCD.

The federal grant is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act and U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration.

It will be matched with $798,540 in local funds, and is expected to help create a development with 140 jobs and $10.5 million in private investment, the DCD statement said.

“For years, the Menomonee Valley has witnessed new industrial development and robust economic growth," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

"The Kneeland Properties site is one of the remaining parcels in the valley that will boost this positive momentum," Johnson said in a statement.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Effort to redevelop Menomonee Valley site lands $3.2 million grant