Commission recommends creation of Tax Incremental District 19 to support Milwaukee Tool expansion

The Menomonee Falls Planning Commission unanimously recommended on March 4 that the village board create Tax Incremental District No. 19 and adopt the district’s project plan, a financing mechanism presented to support Milwaukee Tool’s planned expansion and rehabilitation of an existing building in the Heritage Reserve area.

Harry Allen of Ehlers, the district’s financial consultant, presented the project plan and explained tax increment financing (TIF). Allen said the proposed TID is a mixed-use district intended primarily to support Milwaukee Tool’s planned conversion of an existing building at 100 Heritage Reserve into an electric lab and R&D facility, with potential future construction of up to four additional buildings totaling about 750,000 square feet in several phases. He said the mixed-use designation requires that at least 50% of the TID’s developable area be usable for at least two types of uses; Ehlers’ analysis found about 71% of the district is developable when accounting for wetlands and right-of-way.

Allen presented financial assumptions in the project plan, including an assumed assessed value increase from rehabilitation (about $18.2 million) and projected added value from new buildings (an illustrative $250 per square foot assessment producing up to roughly $187 million if all buildings were constructed). The project-plan model shows estimated tax-increment revenues of approximately $32.8 million over the TID’s life and assumes an illustrative pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) developer incentive equal to 80% of the increment (with the village retaining 20%), with total project costs on the order of $27 million and administrative costs near $300,000. Allen said the TID has a 20-year life under statute for mixed-use districts.

During a public hearing, four nearby residents spoke with concerns about wetlands, runoff, wildlife and potential noise and traffic impacts. Scott Griffith, a resident of Riverview Condominium Association, asked for assurances that development would not increase runoff into wetlands that protect nearby homes. James Lenahan, of Country Club Highlands, expressed concern about property values and the loss of a wildlife area. Jeffrey Stewart asked whether the shown driveway across the creek would require a bridge and raised questions about how the land-use map related to private properties. Matilda Rossette echoed wildlife and noise concerns. Staff and the consultant responded that wetlands and floodplain areas constrain buildable land, that wetland delineations and surveys would be required, and that the project plan itself enables financing but does not authorize specific building plans — those would return to the village for site-plan, zoning and related approvals.

Commissioners asked for clarification about assumptions in the financial model (valuation per square foot, timeline for phased buildings), the interaction with existing TID 10, and the degree to which the green boxes on plan maps represented Milwaukee Tool’s intended building locations. Allen said the green boxes were provided by Milwaukee Tool as their intended development footprint; staff explained that final building size, elevations and parking have not been submitted and would be subject to future approvals and environmental delineations.

A motion to recommend adoption of TID No. 19 and its project plan (dated March 4, 2025) was made and seconded; the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval. The packet and public comments will be forwarded to the village board; if the village board approves, the joint review board (overlapping taxing jurisdictions) will reconvene later in April or May as the final step in TID formation. Allen emphasized that incentives would be provided on a PAYGO basis only after the developer creates incremental value and that any development agreement would be approved by the village board before payment of incentives.