'A real health and safety issue:' 2nd phase of Northridge Mall demolition will cost $11 million in ARPA funds

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- More than two decades after its closure, the former Northridge Mall is set for demolition, making the property the largest piece of land available in the city of Milwaukee.

On Monday, July 1, local media outlets were invited to tour the inside of the old building before its upcoming raze.

Inside, while there were remnants like an old Mrs. Fields cookie sign and a broken-down escalator, it was clear the lot was a shell of what it used to be. 

Shattered glass from skylights covered the moldy and grassy floors, next to piles of asbestos. 

Graffiti of all kinds decorated nearly everywhere one looked, while benches shoppers used to sit on lay overturned.

"It really doesn't take long for a structure like this to come apart," said Benji Timm, a project manager with the Department of City Development.

Plus, the site has been a target of arson and vandalism for years, prompting fencing around the perimeter and 24/7 security.

“At night it’s pitch black in there and with all the debris and everything on the floor, it can be a real hazard," Timm said. “Probably the last five years, it’s really accelerated."

In March, the city began tearing down the mall's former Boston Store -- demolition that is now complete.

Now, officials are using $11 million in ARPA funds for asbestos abatement and the destruction of the building's exterior.

“Just again, from the health and safety standpoint, it’s just not a good place to be," Timm said. “Most of the asbestos is in the walls and inside the columns so they have to kind of clear everything out to get at the asbestos. That’ll likely take about six months to do and then they’ll start working on demolition of the exterior.”

Timm added that with the mall's total demolition expected to finish next fall, workers are in talks with surrounding local businesses to minimize potential disruptions.

“As part of the demolition process, we will have air monitors around the site to make sure that there’s not ambient dust or anything getting out into the public," Timm said. 

In August, a meeting will be held for those businesses and members of the public to provide input.

“We’ll be moving into the planning aspects in the future soon," Timm said. “It was the mall, it had its time and place, and now in the future it’ll be something new, and hopefully it’ll create new memories for somebody else.”

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