Almost Three Years Later, U.S. Postal Facility Still On Hold

Remember the giant U.S. Postal Service facility that was supposed to be built near Pennsylvania and College?

The federal government first put forth plans back in May of 2008. The facility, at some 870,000 square feet spread over 64 acres of vacant land, was to be one of the largest light-industrial buildings developed in the greater Milwaukee region in recent years, according to a Journal Sentinel report. More than 2,200 employees would work there.

But nearly three years later, the land still remains bare.

So, what happened?

As the economy went south in late 2008, the U.S. Postal Service suffered massive losses and the Oak Creek project stalled. 

To this day, it has never gotten back on track. The U.S. Postal Service owns the land (after purchasing it for $8.1 million, according to the South Milwaukee NOW), but it still has not decided if it will construct the facility.

"At this point it’s still on hold. No decisions have been made either way," USPS Spokeswoman Marge Oehlke told me Tuesday. "We have seen billion-dollar losses in the last few years, and we are streamlining our operations and looking at ways of making ourselves more viable for the future."

The proposal generated some controversy in Oak Creek, as many neighbors of the development rose up in opposition and circulated a petition against it.

The issue has arisen again in recent days as the election for 1st District alderman draws near. (That district is where the mail-processing center would call home.)

Kathryn Michuda, who is challenging incumbent Alderman Dan Jakubczyk, said that while campaigning she has heard from many residents still unhappy about the idea. 

It was USPS' proposal which drew Michuda into city politics in the first place - she was active in opposing it, and afterward many suggested to her she would be a good representative on the Common Council, she said.

Mayor Dick Bolender said Tuesday he was never thrilled with the proposal, but it got all the necessary approvals because the city has little choice over what the federal government chooses to do.

"I could have found a better place for it," he said in a telephone interview, "but that’s what they wanted."

But judging by a lone, idle piece of machinery sitting on land that was as empty two years ago as it is now, even the federal government doesn't always get what it wants.