Joint Review Board Will Take Final Vote to Create Two Taxing Districts Wednesday

Two taxing districts proposed by village officials will head before a joint review board Wednesday for one final approval before they can be created.

The two taxing districts will help fund an expansion project at Wacker Neuson, construction new research facility for Eaton Corp and possible constructions of a new Kohl’s headquarters.

The review board, which consists of representatives from other taxing districts as well as Waukesha County, will meet at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Village Hall. Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald said he anticipates both taxing districts will receive the necessary approval.

The taxing districts would be the 10th and 11th that currently exist in the village.

Tax Incremental District (TID) No. 10 includes the Woodland Prime office park and stretches north of Good Hope Road to the east of , and also forms a wedge south of Good Hope Road along Appleton Avenue that includes a residential subdivision.

The taxing district was approved to accommodate two scenarios — either the construction of Kohl’s headquarters, or other commercial development. Kohl’s headquarters would occupy 45 acres on the northwest portion of the taxing district. If Kohl’s doesn’t locate within the district, the parcel would be split into two roughly 20-acre sites for future development.

To encourage Kohl's to locate in Menomonee Falls, the village would front $23 million for infrastructure improvements on the site, and provide $18 million in grants and incentives for the project.

Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald has said Kohl's will make a final decision in fall regarding the location of their new headquarters.

Eaton Corp. has also to build a 102,000-square-foot office and research laboratory within the same taxing district. The new building will cost Eaton roughly $15 million, but would receive a total of $3 million in public financing from the village. This includes a $500,000 grant from the village and $2.5 million in tax payments over the next 10 years.

Details of the development agreement are still in the works between the company and village officials.

The second taxing district is TID No. 11, which includes Wacker Neuson. The company is building a 97,000-square-foot along Pilgrim Road. However, during construction they ran into bedrock that complicated the process and required blasting and rock crushing adding costs to the project.

To help offset some of those costs, the village will spend $3.3 million to help the company with its expansion project.