City has its eye on prime downtown corner

Redevelopment of a key corner of downtown Port Washington — the intersection of Grand Avenue and Franklin Street — is something the city should study, the city’s Community Development Authority said Monday,

The group discussed moving the Pebble House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the city’s visitor center, east to the property now occupied by the former Harborview Cleaners.

A pocket park could be incorporated in front of the Pebble House to create an oasis of green space in the heart of downtown, the panel said.

The city could then create a lot for development on the current Pebble House site and the parking lot directly west of it, the CDA said.

To do so, the city would have to buy the former dry cleaners, something that could be done through the downtown tax incremental financing district, members said.

The CDA, which met to discuss potential brownfield redevelopment, recommended that the city consider hiring a consultant to look into the potential for the site, considering everything from the potential for grant money to the chances of using TIF funds to the cost of the former dry cleaners.

Other sites discussed by the group included the former Peiffer Auto Service property at the corner of Wisconsin Street and Whitefish Road and the Jadair property south of Grand Avenue.

CDA member Richard Sternhagen suggested the city should take a deeper look at the Peiffer Auto property, but most of Monday’s discussion centered around the former dry cleaners.

Ald. Mike Gasper, a member of the panel, said the Harborview is an ideal brownfield site, noting that before it became a dry cleaners there was a gas station on the property.

That means there’s probably some contamination on the site that would have to be removed before anything can be developed there, he said.

“Having been a dry cleaner and gas station, if anyone wanted to acquire it, they would be hard pressed to finance it,” Gasper said. “I think we should look to acquire and mitigate the site.”

In addition to TIF funds, he said, the city could potential obtain grant funds to remediate  contaminated properties.

“I think we’ve got some really nice potential there,” Mayor Ted Neitzke said. “I think it would be neat to have that corner reimagined.

“I’d like to see us be aggressive on that corner. I’d like to see what we could do there.”

He noted that the building is likely to be difficult to sell privately because of the contamination.

And, Neitzke said, the Pebble House would benefit from a more prominent location, noting many people don’t notice the structure at its current site.

“If you put it on the corner, it’s one of the most visible spots in downtown,” Gasper said. 

And by moving the Pebble House and combining its current site with the adjoining parking lot, the city could create a parcel that’s large enough for a new development, Gasper said. Both those properties are owned by the city.

“If there’s value to be gained there, we should do it,” he said.

While Neitzke suggested creating a pocket park in front of the Pebble Center if it’s moved, Sternhagen said he didn’t think that would be necessary.

“I’m not opposed to green space. But we have a potentially valuable space there. I look at our green space being to the east of there,” he said, referring to the lakefront.

  Sternhagen supported the idea of also looking at the Peiffer Auto site, saying it seems to potentially be an easier property to redevelop.

Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, noted that it’s less likely the city could get a grant to remediate that property, which has been eyed for a residential development.