Mayor's plan will change the face of the Root River

A river runs through it. Downtown, that is.

It's easy to forget that fact from many Downtown vantage points with views of the Root River blotted out by vestiges of Racine's industrial past. Most of these hulks in Downtown's periphery no longer serve their original purpose. But they still squat stubbornly on land near the river - obstructing vistas, barring public access and precluding more productive uses.

However, this old, industrial, rather dreary zone that flanks Downtown will be a huge part of its future, if Mayor Gary Becker has his way. Very soon the city will draw a line around those nearly 50 acres, stamp it a redevelopment zone and get on with sweeping changes. Those changes will effectively push Downtown's boundaries outward into this former industrial area.

"The first thing (a redevelopment zone) does," Becker said, "is it freezes anything in the zone for six months, and that can be extended. It allows us to work with property owners, try to acquire some properties, and come up with a long-term plan of what we want this area to be."

Becker is leading the charge, but he's not the only one who thinks it's smart to redevelop the area that envelops Downtown Sixth Street. Local developer Jim Spodick, who has a large stake in the Downtown Sixth Street area, is right there with him.

Redevelopment is "critical to the development of Downtown," Spodick said. "And you have to have your city be an active partner.

"Are we using our land to its highest and best use now?" he asked. "I would say no."

So would Devin Sutherland, Downtown Racine Corp. executive director, who also declared the river "underutilized."

Residential development will almost certainly be the largest component of any plan for the area.

"This is a beautiful geographical site to do development on," Becker said. "The river curves there, it's got hills ..."

In the process, he said the city could reclaim riverfront property for everyone's use, placing all other development just behind a border of public green space.

Mick Burke 2/27/04 subhead: Finding room to build Some old industrial buildings in the area might be converted to living units, such as the former Badger Uniforms at Sixth and Marquette streets.

The city is already in the process of buying that property to make it available to a developer for loft apartments.

But Becker said most of the area's potential likely would come from new residential development, and the city will have to buy and possibly raze unwanted structures before developers will charge in.

"This is what cities have to do," he said.

The magnitude of the undertaking will be immense - in acreage, costs and potential return. Becker agreed it is the city's most ambitious undertaking, compared with anything going on now.

Becker said this is the right time to tackle redevelopment of the area, "Because I look at this and see a lot of this property is for sale, and all of it underutilized.

"There's an exodus back into cities. How many cornfields are we going to use up? And this could be such a great place to live."

There are no firm cost estimates yet, but it would probably require about $10 million to buy and clear some of the prime sites, Becker estimated. Fortunately for Racine taxpayers, he said, property owners in the redevelopment zone will not be able to hold the city hostage on prices, because properties would be assessed based on present uses.

City Development Director Brian O'Connell said the city's outlay there will depend greatly on "whether property owners want to play a role in redevelopment. If they want to use the city's plan ... we don't need to own (each property)."

At a minimum, the city will need to raze unwanted buildings. Becker said money could come from several sources, including: * The sale of the former Walker Manufacturing property to a developer; * A tax incremental financing district, which allows the city to recoup investment costs from added tax base; * County money for creating waterfront open space; and * Sewer agreement revenues - likely on a loan basis, so as not to permanently desiccate that revenue stream. "This is what it's for," Becker said, "bringing the city back and making it healthy over 30 years."

Luring developers O'Connell said the area can be made more attractive to developers with a cohesive plan. "It depends how confident they are that we will keep incompatible uses out," he said.

If they see the whole area making a transition to residential use, "They will be very interested," he predicted. "It's got potential now."

"These are all properties that something is going to happen to them," O'Connell said. "This is our best opportunity to influence the redevelopment so it benefits the Downtown."

There's agreement that the area could easily generate hundreds of new residences. That, obviously, could improve Downtown's financial health.

"I think it's critical that we have residences down there," Spodick said. "We still have a lot of empty buildings Downtown. You would have more people to walk the streets, and you would have businesses moving into those."

Spodick predicted two main types of potential resident for the area, starting with second homes for Illinois citizens. "In the next five years there'll be an explosion of Illinois participation," he predicted.

"I think you will have the empty-nester, the baby boomers," he added.

The DRC's Sutherland agreed they would be ideal candidates for new residences in the zone. "Empty-nesters have a high percentage of discretionary income," he said. "They like to be around activities, and a lot of them don't like to maintain homes."

Interestingly, while most development harms the environment, this plan would actually improve it, Becker said. The future redevelopment area is full of impermeable surfaces: vast rooftops, parking lots and the like, all of which create more runoff to the lake or river. Conversion to residential and park areas would multiply the amount of soft surfaces and green space to absorb rainwater.

Becker said the city will proceed cautiously, despite his enthusiasm to be under way. He thinks the overall effort can accomplish several goals.

"I think it would bring some excitement into the heart of the city," he said. "I think people will just think of things differently.

"Second, it anchors this end of Downtown, to kind of an anchorless (area). And of course, you add some tax base to the area. ... And you will create jobs doing it - though they're not permanent jobs."

He added, "If it slows down the sprawl to the west of us, that's all to the good."

Retrieved with permission from www.journaltimes.com on 02/29/04.