July 16, 2019 6:35p
(WGTD)---A developer has begun preliminary design work on a new Kenosha city hall as part of a proposed 25-acre redevelopment plan for the downtown area.
The disclosure was made by Development Department staffer Zohrab Khaligian at a meeting of the city’s Redevelopment Authority Tuesday evening.
Khaligian noted that the developer--the finalist among 6 companies that responded to a Request For Proposals last year, is still in negotiations with the City. "But at the same time they have already started to work without that contract in designing the new city hall because at least on the public side it's the lynchpin of what's happening," he said.
Mayor John Antaramian’s vision for the tract of land in question included replacing the aging Municipal Building with a new city hall to go up just east of the courthouse, and building a performing arts center, a park and high-rise residential buildings.
The matter came up at Tuesday's Redevelopment Authority meeting because the city was obligated to give the Authority formal notification that some of its properties are included in a proposed tax incremental financing district that would pay for infrastructure within the site.
The next step is going to the city Plan Commission, and the Joint Review Board, which is a small panel made up of representatives of the other taxing bodies that would be affected by the proposed TID.
No timeline was offered.
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