The developer of the former Walmart at 5825 W. Hope Ave. in Midtown Center plans to pull the plug on a computational research facility in the site’s redevelopment proposal, according to a statement from Ald. Mark Chambers Jr.
Chambers, who represents Milwaukee’s District 2, where the site is located, said the decision reflects local government listening to engaged residents.
Feedback, sometimes heated and often focused on whether the proposed facility would include a data center, was collected during three public information sessions and through testimony to the City Plan Commission.
“The removal of the data center proposal is a direct result of community power,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. “All power to the people. Community development should be shaped by the people, led by the people, and designed to benefit the people.”
Residents opposing the project raised environmental impact and transparency concerns about the 10,000 to19,000-square-foot computing facility and questioned how the redevelopment plan would benefit the community.
Trent Overhue, the property owner and developer from AFS Milwaukee LLC, Chambers and city staff attempted to address these concerns in its request for approval from the City Plan Commission last week, but the commission ultimately decided to push the item to a future meeting.
“By removing the computing research facility, the focus returns to what matters most to our community: transforming a long-vacant property into a destination that delivers housing, a new Milwaukee Public Library branch, neighborhood-serving amenities and lasting benefits for residents,” Chambers said in the statement.
Opposition to storage facility continues
The building is mostly proposed to be a self-storage facility, which would still require the plan commission’s approval to deviate from existing zoning standards.
Mabel Lamb, executive director of Sherman Park Community Association, said community members do not support the storage facility.
“They said it wasn’t zoned for storage,” she said. “So why are we back to that?”
The City Plan Commission originally denied AFS Milwaukee’s application for a self-storage facility in the former Walmart in 2023, but the owner has since added plans to include a new location for the Capitol branch of Milwaukee Public Library and other community space. Gorman & Company is also working on a related development of affordable housing units on the parking lot north of the building.
“While this change comes with a reduction in potential tax revenue, it is a better reflection of the vision shared by residents throughout this process,” Chambers said. “I have full confidence that the amended development will be a transformative investment for Midtown.”
The City Plan Commission’s next meeting is set for Monday, July 20.
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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