Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The city withdrew its application for $300,000 in grant money after the DNR refused to waive a requirement regarding hunting and trapping.
Oak Creek's progress on redeveloping its lakefront was dealt a setback after the state Department of Natural Resources declined to award a $300,000 grant without the city allowing hunting and trapping. Lakefront plans are still moving forward, but city officials say money has to be reallocated and it will negatively impact the development of 250 vacant acres along Lake Michigan, where a mix of public, residential and commercial uses are planned. "It's going to take away from other things we can do on the lakefront," City Attorney Larry Haskin said. Oak Creek had applied for a DNR stewardship grant to help pay for the purchase of 30 acres along the lakefront at 9006 S. 5th Ave. The $300,000 grant, for which city officials say they received …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Environmental remediation is under way on the southern portion of the lakefront redevelopment area, east of Fifth Avenue and north of Ryan Road.
The machinery is out in full force on the south end of Oak Creek's lakefront redevelopment area, just east of Fifth Avenue and north of Ryan Road. Crews are working on environmental remediation of the former DuPont and EPEC properties, near the 9100 block of S. 5th Avenue, to get the land ready for development. The work includes removing select areas of trees and concrete slabs, excavating along part of the bluff and treating soils. A building has also been demolished. "It's real, tangible signs of progress down there at the lakefront," City Attorney Larry Haskin said. The factories that operated on the land years ago—at a time of lax environmental regulations—left a host of problems that have plagued redevelopment efforts up to this …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Officials say clean dirt is imperative to lakefront redevelopment efforts, which have been hampered by environmental problems.
One more effort to haul clean soil to the Oak Creek lakefront is taking place this week. Trucks are continuously moving dirt from the Mitchell Interchange, where a four-year reconstruction project ended late last year, to the former DuPont site at 9150 S. 5th Ave. The trucks will be on the roads from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through at least Saturday, and possibly Monday. Oak Creek worked out a deal with the state in 2010 in which dirt from the interchange construction project would be transported to the lakefront. Some 50,000 truck trips were made throughout 2011. The value of the soil is believed to be in the millions of dollars, but the city got it for free. Capping the 250-acre lakefront redevelopment area with clean soil is imperative to …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
New details of the plans show a cul-de-sac will be implemented on Ryan Road and two homes near Ryan Road and Fifth Avenue will be removed.
Planning continues on a new road that will connect Highway 100 with Fifth Avenue and reshape the way drivers get to the Oak Creek lakefront. Plans for the road were first announced last year, but new details emerged earlier this month. Among them: a cul-de-sac will be implemented on Ryan Road just west of the railroad tracks, and two homes near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Ryan Road will be removed. The homeowners were agreeable to relocation and negotiations to acquire the homes are ongoing, City Engineer Mike Simmons said. Because the new road requires a railroad crossing, the cul-de-sac had to be constructed to eliminate the crossing on Ryan Road, Simmons said. The Union Pacific Railroad typically does not allow the addition of …
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Patch is looking back at 10 stories that shaped Oak Creek this year.
From now until the end of the year, Patch will be looking back at 10 stories that shaped Oak Creek in 2012. The eighth installment focuses on redevelopment efforts on the Oak Creek lakefront, which took steps forward in 2012. While years of work still lie ahead, a redevelopment plan was approved in February, land negotiations and acquisitions continued throughout the year and environmental remediation work began late this year. The following story was originally posted Oct. 31. *** City Administrator Gerald Peterson knows Oak Creek residents have heard this all before. For more than a decade, Oak Creek has sought to redevelop the city's lakefront from long-shuttered factories to something its residents can actually use and enjoy. And for …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Oak Creek has seen movement recently in its long-time mission to redevelop the city's lakefront. What do you think about the project and its progress?
For decades, Oak Creek has told residents it wants to give them better access to the lakefront. In recent years, city leaders have talked about remediating the land and putting in a mix of public parkland, housing, retail and commercial development. Finally, there's movement on this. Work began this month on the former DuPont and EPEC properties, which lie on the southern end of the 250 vacant acres north of Bender Park. Before winter sets in, crews are busy removing trees and concrete slabs and excavating along the bluff. When work is completed and approved by regulatory agencies, ownership of those two properties will transfer to Oak Creek, which probably be sometime in 2014. Roughly half of the parcel will be marketed for private …
Saturday, November 24, 2012
As lakefront redevelopment progresses, the city is planning a multi-use path to connect the area east of Fifth Avenue with Bender Park.
A paved pathway is planned to connect the upper part of Bender Park with the lakefront redevelopment area east of Fifth Avenue. Oak Creek is making progress on redeveloping the southern portion of the 250 vacant acres north of Bender Park, with part of the land projected to open to the public in 2014. The pathway, at about 4,200 linear feet, could be used by bicyclists and pedestrians. About $93,400 in grant funding will help pay for the construction of the pathway. The city is committing $140,200, paid for through the $1 million budgeted in 2013 for lakefront redevelopment.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Oak Creek officials say opening up the city's lakefront comes at a cost.
Oak Creek will spend another $400,000 to fund environmental work at the city's lakefront in their ongoing quest to open up the area to the public. City officials said they have come a long way in the last four years to redevelop the lakefront, but there's still work to be done. The money will finish the environmental due diligence needed before the sites can be redeveloped. "We haven't gotten into the end zone yet," City Attorney Larry Haskin said. Haskin acknowledged the high price tag, but said, "I think the way you have to look at this is that this is an investment into these properties." Specifically, the money will go toward legal fees to complete negotiations with two property owners on the northern part of the 250-acre land east of…
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Remediation work is scheduled to begin next week, bringing the city one small step closer to opening up the lakefront north of Bender Park to the public.
City Administrator Gerald Peterson knows Oak Creek residents have heard this all before. For more than a decade, Oak Creek has sought to redevelop the city's lakefront from long-shuttered factories to something its residents can actually use and enjoy. And for just as long, the city has been stymied, with blame pointed to the environmental problems caused by those factories. But starting next month, residents will actually start to see some semblance of progress. Crews are expected to begin working on the southern end of the 250 vacant acres along Fifth Avenue, just north of Bender Park, sometime next week. They will be removing select areas of trees and concrete slabs, excavating along part of the bluff and treating soils, all in an …
Monday, October 22, 2012
The city of Oak Creek has scheduled an Oct. 30 open house to present updated information on lakefront redevelopment.
Within a few weeks, crews will start removing concrete slabs and select areas of trees, treating soils and excavating along part of the bluff as remediation starts on two key Oak Creek lakefront properties. The remediation work will begin in earnest in early November at 9180 S. 5th Ave. and 4240 E. Ryan Road and continue until winter weather suspends work until spring, Oak Creek officials said in a news release. Preliminary work, such as grass mowing, is already under way. The city will present updated information on lakefront progress at an open house scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 30 in the council chambers of Oak Creek City Hall, 8640 S. Howell Ave. The owners of the properties at 9180 S. 5th Ave. and 4240 E. Ryan Road — DuPont and EPEC…
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10:05 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
"The full $600,000 cost of purchasing the 30-acre parcel will now come out of the city's $1 million budget for lakefront redevelopment work, Haskin said." Isn't the one million budgeted for lakefront redevelopment actually debt spending? Thus, won't we now be borrowing another 300,000 from the revolving door debt spending plan? Were paying 600,000 for the Wabash site. 22.5 acres of heavily … more ›