Eschweiler Update: Developer Stands By Stance to Raze Historic Buildings

The debate around the Eschweiler Buildings has waged back and forth for the past few months with the latest stance coming from Barry Mandel, the site's developer. Mandel believes razing the historic buidlings are the only workable course of action for the property. An excerpt from Jim Price's Patch.com article has more of the story:

After a month of pondering alternatives, Barry Mandel, who wants to buy and redevelop the Eschweiler Campus on the County Grounds, repeated Wednesday that he would need to demolish three out of four historic buildings for his plan to work.

But preservationists were out in force to condemn any course that failed to preserve the buildings as a group, which they said has always been Wauwatosa's intention and official position.

Mandel, president of Mandel Group, with lead staff and consultants, made a second presentation Wednesday night to the Wauwatosa Historic Preservation Commission, after first coming to the panel on May 3. No formal proposal was made then or now, and no action was contemplated by the commission, but the message was strong.

For more, please see Patch.com. 

State Official: County Violated State Law In Selling Eschweiler Buildings

Here's an update on the Eschweiler Buildings for those following along with our posts. It seems that Milwaukee County acted improperly in the original sale of the Eschweiler buildings to the UWM Real Estate Foundation.  The attorney for the WI Historical Society,  Chip Brown, is now involved and has forwarded the issue to the Attorney General.  The following is an excerpt from Fox 6 West Allis' coverage of the story. Click the link at the end of the clip for the complete story.

A legal specialist for the Wisconsin Historical Society has notified the Attorney General's Office that he believes that the sale of the Eschweiler Campus Historic District by Milwaukee County to the UWM Real Estate Foundation violated state law.

He went on to say because of that, Wauwatosa should deny any request to demolish any of the Eschweiler buildings — and that in one scenario, the violations could result in as drastic an action as vacating the original land sale.

Chip Brown, an attorney and government assistance and training specialist, said the county failed to notify the state Historical Society of the sale of the historic property and failed to obtain a conservation easement to protect it.

Visit Wauwatosa Patch for more...