Industrial Development Planned on College Ave.

The city of Oak Creek is working on a proposal for a new industrial development in the 800 block of W. College Ave.

City officials declined to name the company involved or release more specifics about the development. But it's expected the proposal, if it comes to fruition, would be in the $7 million to $9 million range and create 40 new jobs. 

The company is based in Milwaukee and has inquired about relocating to College Avenue in Oak Creek, according to a memo from Doug Seymour, the city's community development director.

Construction would commence next spring, with substantial completion by the third quarter of 2014.

The Oak Creek Common Council on Tuesday approved including the property in a tax-incremental financing district to help alleviate development costs. The site is now home to a landfill, and costs to build infrastructure (particularly water service) would be "extraordinary," Seymour told aldermen.

C.W. Purpero Inc. owns the 23-acre parcel. The TIF district and a possible grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation would help offset costs to investigate environmental impacts and prepare the site for development, Christopher Van Ells, vice president of business operations for C.W. Purpero, wrote in a letter to the city.

"The proposed project will bring a drastically underutilized 23-acre parcel back into a productive use and provide an increase in tax base for the city," Van Ells wrote.

Van Ells did not respond to a request for further comment Wednesday.

The Purpero property, as well as land further east on College that will be home to a car-rental service, will be part of a TIF district that includes the hotels near 13th Street and College Avenue. TIF districts allow municipalities or developers to borrow money for developments and use the resulting increased tax increment to pay off the loan.

The as-yet-unnamed company will be requesting $1 million in development assistance through the TIF district, which in this case will be funded by the developer, Seymour said in the memo.