Century City
Most of the old buildings at the A.O. Smith Milwaukee Works have been torn down to make way for a city-led redevelopment effort called the Century City Business Park.
The idea is to establish light industrial and business enterprises where A.O. Smith once employed thousands of people in heavy manufacturing. The goal is to restore at least some of the good-paying jobs that vanished from Milwaukee's northwest side when A.O. Smith shut down.
The idea is to establish light industrial and business enterprises where A.O. Smith once employed thousands of people in heavy manufacturing. The goal is to restore at least some of the good-paying jobs that vanished from Milwaukee's northwest side when A.O. Smith shut down.
Tearing down the old buildings was the first step in the redevelopment effort. Demolition and pollution clean-up cost the city about $35 million.
The next step is to market the site to potential new occupants.
The next step is to market the site to potential new occupants.
The city hopes that Century City will be a repeat of its successful redevelopment of the Menomonee River Valley Industrial Center. Civic leaders are investing in Century City because it's in an economically depressed minority neighborhood with a very high unemployment rate. The number-one goal of the project is to create jobs where they are desperately needed. Incidentally, if new business enterprises locate there, the city will increase its tax revenue after it recoups the cost of redevelopment.
There are some reasons for optimism. Century City has a railroad (as does the Menomonee River Valley Industrial Center) and that's attractive for manufacturers who need to ship by rail. Supporters of Century City also point to a readily available workforce. They say there are plenty of people living nearby who are looking for jobs.
However, even advocates of Century City agree it isn't a sure thing. There are many reasons why the project may fail to achieve the desired results. The site is remote from downtown. There is no easy access to the interstate highway system. And it's in a rundown, high-crime urban neighborhood that doesn't look attractive to the private sector.
There are some reasons for optimism. Century City has a railroad (as does the Menomonee River Valley Industrial Center) and that's attractive for manufacturers who need to ship by rail. Supporters of Century City also point to a readily available workforce. They say there are plenty of people living nearby who are looking for jobs.
However, even advocates of Century City agree it isn't a sure thing. There are many reasons why the project may fail to achieve the desired results. The site is remote from downtown. There is no easy access to the interstate highway system. And it's in a rundown, high-crime urban neighborhood that doesn't look attractive to the private sector.
Under the Doyle administration, the state did manage to attract one industrial powerhouse, Talgo Inc., to the old A.O. Smith site. The Spanish company built two high-speed trains for the state of Wisconsin there. It was supposed to stay on to maintain the trains at the site, and maybe even build more for other customers. However, when Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle was replaced by Scott Walker and a Republican majority in the statehouse, Wisconsin legislators decided to cancel the train. The Talgo facility, which could have been a cornerstone of Century City redevelopment, is now closed. The trains that were built there sit unused outside.
Even if Talgo is eventually replaced by other businesses, there's no guarantee that they'll have good-paying jobs to offer the neighborhood's unemployed men, women and youths. If Century City brings in retail and other low-tech enterprises, they'll hire mostly low-wage and part-time employees. If manufacturers locate on the site, they'll need skilled workers with trade school degrees. If businesses locate administrative activities there, they'll need white-collar workers with advanced training. All of those good-paying jobs would be out of reach for folks in the neighborhood who lack even a high-school education.
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