Preserve or Destroy? Fate of Eschweiler Buildings Is Soon to Be Determined

In the interest of full disclosure let me start by stating that I am a concerned Wauwatosa resident and property owner, along with being a longtime residential Realtor and a new board member of the Wauwatosa Historical Society (as of January 2012). 

I had always thought that the Eschweiler Buildings were safe from destruction, due to their being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the State Register of Historic Places, along with being designated a Milwaukee County Landmark. When I attended the presentation the Mandel Group gave to the Historic Preservation Committee on May 2nd however, I was surprised to learn that the plan the Mandel Group was proposing called for the demolition of 4 of the 5 Eschweiler buildings. How was this even possible I wondered?

I am attaching a pdf below with the letter that the Wauwatosa Historical Society sent to David Gilbert, the President of the UW-Milwaukee Real Estate Foundation on July 1st. In it the WHS urges Mr. Gilbert to reopen the RFP process and I could not agree more. 

When Mandel Group presented their proposal they started by saying they had initially done an "exhaustive" search for businesses that might be interested in the site. The Mandel Group then proceeded to go over about 8 businesses that they had approached. No offense, but I did not think that number was "exhaustive". For example, they stated that they had walked the grounds with Joe Bartolotta and that he decided the site was not a good fit for his restaurant group. However, no other mention of any other local restaurant group or owner was made, so I can only conclude that they approached one restaurant. Again, hardly "exhaustive" in my opinion. Apparently because this "exhaustive" search turned up no businesses that were interested in the site, Mandel concluded that demolishing the historic buildings and putting up new apartment buildings was the only viable option.

Due to my disappointment with the currently proposed development, I am writing this post in the hope that I can spread the word and encourage more concerned residents to participate in the discussion of what to do with these buildings. It is my understanding that the Mandel Group will be presenting to the Historic Preservation Committee again on August 1st. Please attend this meeting to have your voice heard. I also encourage you to write to your local aderman and to our mayor. There are so many reasons to work to preserve these buildings and only one to demolish them.