Construction Continues on Richfield...Wait...Falls Parkway

There are a several more walls erected than there were a few weeks ago at the Froedtert Health and Wisconsin Athletic Club development, and there are a few more updates to report as well. 

The Village Board will begin work on constructing an extension of Richfield Way to act as an arterial road through the development soon. On Monday, the Village Board will vote to rename that street, "Falls Parkway." The road will connect County Line Road to Pilgrim Road. 

According to a staff report, Richfield Way no longer acts as an appropriate name for the marketing and development of the taxing district. 

The village will invest roughly $30 million throughout the life of the taxing district to spur development, and the village will reimburse its upfront costs over 27 years with incremental tax values generated from new construction. The road extension of Richfield Way - so to be Falls Parkway - is part of that deal.

Construction of the roadway will be another domino of many to fall in that development. In 2010, the village signed a development agreement with Colbalt Partners, LLC, which is a company that plans to construct high-end multi-family apartments on the site.

In the agreement, Cobalt agreed to remove contamination and develop the site south of Falls Parkway once the roadway is complete. 

Cobalt is planning to build a 294-unit high-end apartment complex on a 15-acre site occupied by the former Dostal-Lowery factory facility. The apartment development is the first peg in a larger redevelopment effort for that area being led by the village.

In February leaders from the Wisconsin Athletic Club, Froedtert Health, Ryan Companies and Menomonee Falls broke ground on a 91,000-square-foot, $14 million sports rehabilitation facility and athletic club. It didn't take long before early signs of progress emerged.

The entire taxing district is expected to add some $80 to $120 million in tax value once all development is completed in the district.

The village invested $4.7 million into the district to raze factory and for environmental remediation of the soil, which was contaminated with a metal degreasing solvent used on the site years ago. The village purchased the land for $600,000 last year. The remediation project was completed in fall, and the village expects to begin its first phase of extending Richfield Way in spring.