After months of behind-the-scenes negotiating and years of stop-and-go planning, Oak Creek has finally closed on a roughly 40-acre parcel just outside Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, paying about $2.3 million to put long stalled industrial development plans back on the runway.
The purchase returns the city to the role of landowner as it courts large manufacturing, distribution or logistics users. City officials are betting that airport-fueled momentum can finally translate into bricks, mortar and payrolls on the south side of Milwaukee County.
As reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reporter Tom Daykin notes that the city paid roughly $2.3 million for the land and plans to use the deal to restart industrial development that had previously stalled. The paper reports that the buy is meant to make the site more attractive to big employers and to clear away land assembly headaches that had scared off potential projects. City leaders told the outlet they view the tract as a critical piece of their strategy to bring job-heavy development to the airport area.
What The City Bought
The deal caps a years-long push by Oak Creek to piece together a large industrial site that could host either a single, major employer or several tenants. BizTimes Milwaukee reported in January 2025 that the city had previously acquired about 14 acres and had also agreed to act as a backstop buyer on a 25-acre Howell Avenue property, marketing the combined 40-acre package to prospective industrial users…