𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀

Some governments steamroll over residents and grant millions in tax breaks for corporate data center projects. Tiny Shorewood is trying to play in the same league by embracing similar methods.

It’s been about a year since five Village trustees and the Village manager embarked on a plan to dispose of a much-used public parking lot serving the North Oakland neighborhood. The intended outcome is converting the 49-spot lot into 19 affordable housing units developed by Spoerl Commercial. That’s the official narrative. But the story behind this deal is a swamp of sweetheart deals and willfully ignoring the needs of lower-income residents and small businesses:

• 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. The Village requires this for developers: “Applicants are required to provide notice and public outreach to neighborhoods and impacted stakeholders” (Shorewood Policy 40). Spoerl failed to conduct meetings with North Oakland residents and small businesses, but the Village manager only suggested this be done in a January 16, 2025 email, and the requirement was never enforced. An estimated 542 renters and 54 small businesses never were provided a forum in which to comment on their parking needs (1).

• 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆. Trustee Stokebrand requested an appraisal of the North Oakland parking lot before its sale to Spoerl. The request was voted down by President McKaig, and Trustees Arndorfer, Ircink, and McGovern at the July 7, 2025 Village board meeting. This established a dangerous precedent where Village assets can be sold at below-market rates to a private party.

• 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 $𝟭𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁. Spoerl requested a price of $333,000 for the North Oakland lot, which was granted by the Village. Spoerl paid $1,365,800 for a similar-sized lot in Whitefish Bay at 4800 Santa Monica Blvd (2).

• 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗿𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲. Trustee McGovern said to a group of residents after a February 25, 2026 Community Development Authority meeting about the North Oakland lot, “I wish we had given the property free of charge to Spoerl.” He then joined Spoerl and the two walked out of the meeting together in discussion.

• 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗿𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 $𝟭+ 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻. Spoerl revealed at a February 25, 2026 meeting that he needed $1 million more from the Village for his North Oakland project. $300,000 was sought for an elevator for the 3-story building (omitted from earlier plans). Plus $770,000 to fund an escrow account to provide social services for four of 19 apartment units.Both items were missing from the original proposal; Spoerl contributed nothing.

• 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘂𝗸𝗲𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆$𝟭𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗿𝗹. Milwaukee County just announced a desire to give Spoerl Commercial an additional $950,000 for an unspecified reason for the North Oakland project (3).This generosity arrives as the Milwaukee County Transit System is set to cut bus service by 25% and in the face of a $50.8 million budget gap for the 2027 budget cycle (4).

• 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗿𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 $𝟳.𝟭𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁. The Village’s Policy 40 requires the developer to have a minimum 15% equity in the North Oakland project; Spoerl has none. It’s all public money from Shorewood ($1.6 million), Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Agency (WHEDA), and the Federal Home Loan Bank (5).As of March 5, 2026 WHEDA implemented a policy in which it will not answer queries from the public about the Spoerl Commercial project.

• 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀. The Village’s Policy 40 limits its contribution to 15% of a project; Spoerl’s North Oakland project will receive 22% Village taxpayer support (6).A required 20-year payback period for Shorewood was grossly unmet and ignored.

"The Village and now the County are essentially writing blank checks to a private developer.Shorewood is completely running roughshod over its own rules while local businesses and families get pushed to the curb," said Jay Sorensen, a volunteer and advocate with Affordable Shorewood. "When local leaders completely waive public oversight and gift a prime neighborhood lot for a million dollars below market value - - ensuring the developer risks absolutely zero percent of his own money - it isn't public progress, it's a taxpayer-fueled giveaway engineered behind closed doors."

Click here for the full press release with endnotes:https://storage.googleapis.com/mailerlite-uploads-prod/01862766/L4HXCabfIqWQe6o67VJEksAf1f3TvrgMnkcDLhD2.pdf