The city’s Special Joint Committee on the Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Homes will meet on Monday, September 23 with an agenda that includes seeking further information on the status of the property at 2807 W. State St.
Monday’s meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. in Room 301-B at City Hall, 200 E. Wells St. Media coverage is invited.
At the last joint committee meeting (held on July 29) Alderman Bauman learned that the city had been ripped off with regard to the sale of the city-owned property at 2807 W. State St. It was revealed that the city had sold the property, which the city had repaired and rehabbed at a cost of $128,000, for $7,500 to an absentee landlord despite an owner-occupancy requirement for the property. At the time, neighbors were complaining about tenant behavior at the property, and Alderman Bauman expressed extreme concern about the transaction.
Alderman Bauman said absentee landlords are taking advantage of the city and its taxpayers by promising to be owner-occupants when they buy properties that the city has rehabbed (often at substantial expense) for sale to owner-occupants. “The city has been making a major push to increase owner-occupancy in central city neighborhoods that have been devastated by the Great Recession and we are investing city funds to rehab these homes to make them attractive to owner-occupants,” he said.
Alderman Bauman said he will be looking for answers from the Department of City Development and from the City Attorney regarding actions the city is taking to stop the practice and actions the city is taking to hold landlords who buy properties from the city under false pretenses accountable.
Monday’s meeting will be televised live on the City Channel (Channel 25 on Spectrum Cable and on AT&T U-Verse Channel 99) in the City of Milwaukee. It can also be viewed via streaming video on the City website at milwaukee.gov/Channel25.