Many Manitowoc residents want to know exactly “what’s up” with the vacant Mirro property downtown.
Mayor Justin Nickels gave an update on WOMT’s Be My Guest program Tuesday morning.
He began by saying that it’s difficult because you see the growth and development at the CN Peninsula, along with the potential development for the Mid-Cities property.
Then, there’s Mirro.
“The way the lot is right now to build is a burden,” the mayor said. “I will say that if we (the city) didn’t tear the building down we would be complaining about how the building is naturally falling. I think the city did the right thing by stepping in and tearing the building down. That’s the public sector’s role, what we had to do to clean up that part. Now we need the private sector to step up and do something.”
Nickels wants to make it clear that a major retail chain will not be coming there, due to the logistical concerns.
But the good news is, as Nickles explained, “We have been working with a developer on some housing units there. There would be a 50-plus apartment housing complex that would go there. It would be subsidized workforce housing. There’s a lot of federal grants we would need to be approved for. The council has committed to use some potential TIF money to help the developer with the units going up on the Washington Street side of the property.”
The mayor emphasizes that this is not a “done deal” with plenty of legal loopholes yet to jump through.
But there is action with a developer behind the scenes that hopefully will come to fruition.
