A new Public Policy Forum report issued today examines the success of Milwaukee's Menomonee River Valley development and its potential for the future.



The forum report was commissioned and funded by Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc. It can be downloaded here.

Here is a seven-point summary from the report:

• Major redevelopment initiatives need to be accompanied by a robust set of planning and design activities that establish both a common vision for the initiative and a detailed roadmap to achieve that vision.
• Strong intergovernmental cooperation and public-private partnerships will be essential for large-scale redevelopment efforts to succeed.
• Funding must be pursued and creatively assembled from numerous sources to address the many barriers that impede brownfield redevelopment projects.
• Given the key advantages involved with public or public-private ownership of re-developable brownfield properties, the City likely will need to assume considerable financial risk to advance major redevelopment projects.
• Major redevelopment projects must be accompanied by aggressive marketing of the area’s existing strengths and amenities.
• Major redevelopment projects should be viewed as opportunities to address multiple community objectives.
• Using redevelopment projects to create jobs for neighborhood residents may require greater emphasis on workforce development.