Why Mary Glass OPPOSES Sisters of Assisi St. Ann Intergenerational Care Center - Bucyrus Campus

L-R:   Mary Glass, Chair/CEO Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC & Sister Edna Lonergan, President, St Ann Intergenerational Care Center - Bucyrus Center

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When seeking to join a neighborhood - How you treat the people of the neighborhood at the outset speak volumes of how you will be a neighbor.   RESPECT is crucial.     Mary Glass
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May 2, 2014
City Center Milwaukee | Today, Mary Glass, Chair/CEO, Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC launched the first text version since her 4-part Exposé of why she "opposes" the construction of Sisters of Assisi St. Ann Intergenerational Care Center - Bucyrus Campus in census tract 99 on North Avenue in the neighborhood of Amani, in the city of Milwaukee.

Sisters of Assisi - St. Francis, Wisconsin
St. Ann Center
Sister Edna Lonergan, President  & Sister Joanne Schatzlein, Liaison

Key Findings
The projected northside St. Ann Center for the city of Milwaukee was NOT handled correctly by:

• those seeking the land - Sisters of Assisi and most notably President Edna Lonergan representing Sisters of Assisi; 
• the city of Milwaukee city officers - elected and appointed; 
• especially Ald. Jim Bohls, Ald. Willie Wade, Ald./Common Council President Michael Murphy, Ald. Terry Witkowski and Ald Bob Bauman* - Zoning Committee
• specifically Common Council President and Alderman Willie Hines
• specifically Commissioner Rocky Marcoux
• city of Milwaukee hired staff;
•  Jim Scherer - VP Milwaukee Economic Development Corp
• Janet Grau - Urban Planning
• Vanessa Koster - City Planning Manager
• appointed staff for committees and boards by the mayor; 
• African Americans contacted regarding the project; 
• hired contractors and consultants; and,
• individuals who should have known better.

*     Was the one person on the council to vote NO.  He asked the right questions.

The project failed in DUE DILIGENCE.  It was not "vetted" for equity financials (contributed resources and funding), neighborhood-friendliness, in social responsibility (quality of life and economic development), and corporate image-friendly (board members and partners).

The awkward and badly handle missteps that mimic practices of Caucasians supposively saving the poor African Americans because they can not save themselves is not appreciated here.  Or,  "something is better than nothing".  Both are inappropriate analogies here.  What is here is a 19-plus year fiasco  followed by the engagement of another un-vetted fiasco.

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   Twenty-two (22) REASONS for "NO" to Sisters of Assisi St. Ann Center

                                                   22 Reasons - Not a complete list

• Bucyrus Campus represents GENTRIFICATION and is an “unworthy” namesake.
• Community outreach efforts seen as limited to none with pick-and-choose participants on varied levels of inclusion; i.e., exclusivity of Next Door Foundation for day care and Parklawn Assembly Church for band shell rights. 
• Construction management by CG Schmidt not friendly to neighborhood in best business practices when hiring of African Americans.
• Fail to have a marketing plan with “lists” to help ensure that business procurement and residential employment is active in the Amani and contiguous neighborhoods – pre-, during, after project.
• Fail to have board and developer servicers that include Amani and contiguous neighborhoods for infrastructure growth.
• Fail to Meet Code of Conduct - TRUST factor.
• Fail to produce a master plan and/or schedule for entire project for neighborhood and public.
• Fail to see broad community outreach, appeal or demand for support to target groups – families and neighboring business centers.
• Fail to show property management plan (facilities, building operations, financial accounting, partners, reporting and build-outs with investment and leadership from the Amani and contiguous neighborhoods).
• Failed equity program – 100% public.  Given the target groups, children, disabled and seniors, primarily of Color, living in low income areas; it guarantees Medicare and Medicaid.  It also demands favor from like funding sites for low income areas and federated funders.   All predicated on profile of the clients.  These are the resources and assets the clients bring to the table, not St. Ann.
• Failed full-scale notifications of Intent to purchase of census tract #99 to citizenry by city of Milwaukee and Sisters of Assisi.
• Failed Golden Rule - Sisters of Assisi and Sister Lonergan.
• Failed to show investment in economic plan for infrastructure growth - $300 (Questionable BID #32)
• Failed marketing to residential – business-neighborhood stakeholders in partnerships
• Lack quality control points for monitoring the project in writing and connection with the neighborhood.
• No working plan or community relation plan cited between Human Resource and board of St Ann, the city of Milwaukee, NSP group, business association or BID 32 to aid in the creation of businesses in the Amani and contiguous neighborhoods.
• Non-profit structure failed to show business development enhancement by construction and specific ongoing employment plan with family supporting wages in “Detailed Plan and Owner Statement” for infrastructure growth.
• Non-profit structure provides NO revenue to tax base consistent with 7.5 acres and $1.00 cost for land.
• Not an Urban footprint.
• Part of 19-year 4-Phase North Avenue Commerce Center fiasco.
• Project construction was based on “minimum percentage” as oppose to developing a means for hiring of co-prime contractors, prime contractors, subcontractors, superintendents, etc. to increase the investment in the area and promote business development of DBEs and hiring construction workers.
• Zoning changes that did not ensure that investments in jobs and business would be a key responsibility of St. Ann Center allows BAIT-N-Switch partners and failure to communicate.

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Amani

Amani and contiguous neighborhoods are a proud, densely populated group of stakeholders made-up of homeowners, renters, schools, churches, day cares, senior center, community organizations, vetted small-shop business owners for the most part and somewhat complicated neigborhood-group.  There are national and international chains such as:  Popeyes, Walgreens, Autozone, Family Dollar, Talecris and Interstate Plasma Center.  Some of the shop-owners have been in the neighborhood for generations and family date back to a dirt-street for Fond du Lac Avenue.  Some decade old shop-owners were put out-of-business by the lack of communication and coordination with the stakeholders/businesses along the designated strip for the Restoration of Fond du Lac/Highway 145 corridor.  Mario Schifalacqua - Department of Public Works refused to work with CNI/Fondy North Business Association to speak with the shop-owners and ensure that the businesses along the targeted area had "signage" and "notices for customers" posted well-in-advance of and during construction. The long construction meant a huge drop in business - the drop was too much for the shop-owners.  Amanians are multi-racial and reflect young to senior plus age groups.  Some of the home owners are widows that reflect the manufacturing industry employees.

Amanians and contiguous neighborhoods have running through their neighborhoods the most traveled streets in Milwaukee - Fond du Lac/Highway 145 and North Avenue.  Amani is people and land-rich.  It has a very high un- and under-employment base.  Many of the present property owners have moved to other areas but yet own property and some run businesses, have rental property (commercial and residential), have a church home or pastor a church and work in the area.

Amani and contiguous neighborhood was deshoveled by the Park-west freeway project some years back that was never completed.  Yes. land-rich.  Yes.  A freeway project that was-not completed. It lost land during development projects over the last 10-15 years; a Super Kmart project was lost due to final negotiations by the contractors and the city of Milwaukee to consummate the deal with Kmart.

Click - Enlarge

27th & North

On the Northwest side of the street was another economic development project that "failed" and experienced mismanagement by the city of Milwaukee, it was Steeltech and later Capitol Stamping.

On the Northeast side of the street is where the 1993 economic development project was created for the 4-Phase North Avenue Commerce Center.  It is the land, 7.5 acres that St. Ann came after.  Seven point five (7.5acres - 2 phases of the North Avenue Commerce Center) of the 17.5 acres that was part of the four phases of the 1993 economic development project earmarked for 27th and North Avenue - on the Northeast side of the street.

Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC and the people will bring claim against wrongful authorization of zoning and sale of this part of the North Avenue Commerce Center - Phase 3 & 4 Phase to Sisters of Assisi St. Ann Center.

Zimmerman Architectural Studios, Inc. - Enlarge, CLICK photo 

St. Ann is seeking to erect a 2-story building in this residential and church area, disruptive to the residential and urban design, massive parking, massive traffic patterns, massive medical vehicle with alarms, a gated-fenced building (UNLIKE one on South side - no gate or fence),  no detail plan of employment that include building - site plan.

Enlarge - Click Photo

Land Use and Cost

Keep in  mind this is an economic development zoned area for business and jobs to build the neighborhood. St. Ann Center came with RE-ZONING to allow major changes consistent with their "personal plan" NOT an economic plan for TO BENEFIT THE "whole" of the NEIGHBORHOOD.  The plan is 100% for St. Ann and their aspirations to duplicate across Milwaukee and other Urban cities with similar populations. That's exploitation.

Jackpot

• St. Ann got Re-zoning.
• Got 7.5 acres land for $1.00.
• Got $300.00 assessment per year to Questionable Bid District #32. 
• $1,629.75 for City Waste ($300.00 + $1,629.75 = $1,929.75 total city charges)

Nothing known by the citizenry.

Nothing authorized by the stakeholders.

Bait-in-Switch plans visible.

Visit the 4-part Exposé 
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Updated:  May 3, 2014