Photo by Adam Ryan Morris
For months, it’s been largely assumed that local group WAM DC LLC would be the new owners of the Shops of Grand Avenue. Now, it appears that will not be the case.
The top bid for the mall, at auction.com, landed at $16.5 million when it closed this afternoon. WAM DC did not win the auction. The winner is an unknown group, giving the mall an uncertain future.
“It was not us,” says Steve Chernof, chair of WAM DC and partner at Godfrey and Kahn. “I don’t know who the winner is. We were in it until the end. We got to the limit of our financial modeling…I think (the winners) are not from this area, and I would hope that they have the financial backing and the right intentions for the mall and have a vision that’s consistent with the revitalization effort. The goal here is the revitalization of West Wisconsin Avenue.”
WAM DC LLC is a public-private group that has been working with the city of Milwaukee to purchase the beleaguered Downtown mall, and has been supported by Mayor Tom Barrett. The Redevelopment Authority passed a resolution last week to assist the group through $20 million in public bonding.
In a recent interview, Rocky Marcoux, commissioner of the Department of City Development, said this about WAM DC and its efforts to purchase the mall:
“The reason I believe the newest articulation of what could happen (at the Grand Avenue) will be successful because it truly has been driven by a consortium of folks that have proven by their track record the commitment they have to the city, and as importantly, have proven their effectiveness,” he says. “These folks are winners.”
WAM DC losing the auction puts city leaders who have backed the effort in a tough spot. Revitalizing West Wisconsin Avenue is seen as a priority, but now, a big piece of that effort is out of their hands. Considering the buyer is still unknown, it’s too soon to say whether this is yet another in a long list of failures at the Downtown mall. The inability to get the mall under local control after months of working toward that goal, however, is far from a success.
There’s a chance, too, this purchase could impact another major Downtown project in the works – a new arena. The western, non-historic portion of the Shops Grand Avenue, along with the attached (and city-funded) Boston Store, has been discussed as an arena location.
