Politics & Government

Village Close to Development Deal for Area Behind Kohl's

Village officials met for the second time this month in private to discuss the possible 400-acre acquisition. However, apparently there are money issues involved.

Sussex trustees met privately for the second time this month to discuss possibly offering real estate tax incentives to develop a business park behind , according to the Sussex Sun.

Village Administrator Jeremy Smith addressed the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee Monday saying they’re close to sealing the deal.

“We’re working on development deals for a new corporate center, and we’re pretty close with that,” Smith said. “It would potentially be behind the Kohl’s. There actually isn’t a lot of vacant industrial land in Waukesha County, so the need for space is there. The empty lots we have in Sussex have some challenging issues in regards to wetlands and things like that, and the Village Board is cognizant of that.”

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The village is working with MLG Commercial, an industrial real estate company, in its goal to obtain almost 400 acres of land from the Bielinski Brothers construction company and the Johnson Bank near the corner of Main Street and Hwy 164. MLG is interested in the land because of the success other industrial parks in Sussex have had.

However, according to Village President Greg Goetz, the transaction has come with issues. Representatives from MLG want Sussex officials to include the industrial park in a new Tax Increment Finance District. That way the village could use the tax income from the park to pay for infrastructure improvements associated with constructing it.

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"We are discussing the possibility of a TIF,” Goetz told the Sun. “There are a lot of issues. Some of them involve money and not all of the cards are on the table yet. That is why we have to have a closed session.”


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