Benefits of major Kenosha, school district property transfers evident (2024)

The major transfer of properties between the city and school district may soon breathe new life into several Kenosha sites.

The proposed agreement between Kenosha Unified Schools and the City Council could lead to redevelopments including new housing.

The district and the city recently announced plans to transfer five school properties to the city: KTEC West (former McKinley Middle School), 5710 32nd Ave.; McKinley Elementary, 5520 52nd Ave.; Jefferson Elementary, 1832 43rd St.; Jefferson Annex (Kenosha eSchool), 1808 41st Place; and Washington Middle School (current site), 811 Washington Road.

KTEC East (former Lincoln Elementary School, currently owned by the city), 6811 18th Ave., is to be be transferred to the school district to become part of a larger KTEC campus in the future, according to Unified’s Director of Facilities Pat Finnemore.

“Federal funds have been spent in some of the buildings that are in the deal, so we have to make sure that we do everything by that process,” KUSD Chief Financial Officer Tarik Hamdan said.

“Our hope would be later this summer the agreement can be brought to both the School Board and to the City Council for review,” Finnemore said.

Kenosha Mayor David Bogdala agreed there are details still being ironed out.

Bogdala said City Council aldermen are “very supportive of the concept.”

“We also want to make sure they have their input (and) the neighborhoods involved give their input. That’s really key,” he said. “Figuring out exactly how that’s all going to look long term is what we want to spend some more time on.”

Coming together

The school district realized early on that it would have to involve the city if the old school sites were to be redeveloped.

“If we’re being realistic about potential uses needing any rezoning, the city’s going to be involved anyway in some way, shape or form,” Finnemore said. “In the case of some of the sites, it was recognized that building demotion was probably going to be part of the the redevelopment. We don’t do demolition as a school district… (the city does) probably more demo than any other entity in the county.”

Finnemore said both sides share a vested interest in seeing these properties get developed in a way that “makes sense for the neighborhoods, makes sense for the community.”

“Doing something in a joint venture, having the city involved, just made a lot of sense to us from the beginning, and really took what could have been something where buildings were just sitting vacant for years… to something that’s probably going to happen. It’s not going to happen overnight (but) a whole lot quicker with the city’s involvement and with the ability to include (tax incremental financing districts),” he said.

KUSD also had to take into account the size of each tract of land and aged of the properties in their decisions to transfer those sites to the city.

“The average acreage of the sites we’re talking about is under three acres,” Finnemore said. “The average age of the buildings is 100 years old. So there’s probably an opportunity to use a couple of those buildings, but to find uses and buyers for all of them would be really unlikely.”

Not part of the transfer is the Dimensions of Learning site, 6218 25th Ave., which the district hopes to sell.

“We’ve been fielding inquiries from interested parties on that site and we’re cautiously optimistic we’ll find a buyer that makes sense for us (and) makes sense for the city,” Finnemore said.

District finances

The property transfers are not financially motivated, Hamdan said.

“This is more of a cooperative community plan to repurpose those sites for what the community needs,” he said. “With our declining enrollment, the need isn’t for schools. We’re looking at more affordable housing (and) we’re looking at more community spaces.”

Hamdan said there is a potential for some profit after redevelopment, as the school district would share in splitting any profits that come from the redeveloped sites, but “we’re also realistic.”

“We know these are not gold mines, and the redevelopment is going to cost money,” he said. “So if it happens, great, but we are not certainly banking on seeing some huge windfall. This is not a budget saver.”

The district will not be contributing money as part of transferring the properties to the city.

“We’re going into the deal without any investment, so this isn’t costing us any money upfront. That’s the biggest part,” he said.

Housing development

Both parties are considering redeveloping the properties into housing, as the areas involved lack housing options, especially affordable ones.

“We really would love to see some additional housing in our community. There is not affordable housing. There’s just not a lot of available housing, period,” Finnemore said. “I think (city administration) shares the same kind of vision as we do, that these properties get developed in a way that makes sense for our community.”

Bogdala said the city needs more single-family homes.

“There’s a desperate need right now, and it’s not just Kenosha. It’s all over,” he said. “This fits in with our with our long-term goals of delivering more single family housing to our citizens and employers. That’s what we know is a need.”

Bogdala said Kenosha has one of “the hottest job markets anywhere in Wisconsin right now.”

“The issue is not having enough places for people to live,” he said. “It’s only going to hurt you long term if you don’t have places for people to live.”

Once the transfer agreement is officially approved, Finnemore said the district will still be involved in the redevelopment of those sites.

“We are one of the five representatives on the Joint Review Board for the Tax Incremental District, so we have a say on the the TID review and approval process,” Finnemore said. “We really want to see those sites used in all of our best interest, whatever that may be.”