A Milwaukee Common Council committee voted on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, to advance Mayor Tom Barrett's plan for two tax incremental financing districts (TIF) to pay for the city's proposed downtown streetcar, opposed by county and state political officials.
The Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee voted 4-1 for the plan, which expands the proposed streetcar to 4.6 miles of right-of-way, with a projected cost of $124 million. An added new route, essentially a spur, would extend toward Lake Michigan and the Couture development project, a proposed 44-story high-end apartment building.
The measure must still be approved by the full Common Council, Milwaukee's version of a city council.
Such approval is a must for the Couture project to be viable, according to the developer Rick Barrett. Barrett plans to purchase the Downtown Transit Center (DTC) for $500,000 and replace it with the Couture building, including a streetcar stop.
The site, valued at $8.9 million, is partially owned by
Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which has supported the streetcar project and provided funding despite continued opposition from Milwaukee County and state officials under Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
For the DTC to be purchased from the county for $500,000 by Barrett's firm, the FTA requires a replacement transit project to be built in its place, according to local media.
Alderman Tony Zielinski, who opposes the plan, said he plans to introduce an amendment at the full council meeting to separate the Couture financing from the streetcar plan.