Before
A Vision for Something More
How did the developer know these blighted,
dilapidated properties had promise? As they
say in the real estate industry, it was all about
location, location, location. The properties were
located at a major street corner in downtown
Waukesha. The Carroll University campus was to
the east, multi-family and residential housing was
to the south, and railroad tracks cut diagonally
just northwest of the area. The railroad tracks
and two streets formed a triangle, which is
where today’s Carroll University Student Living
and Business Center now sits. “It’s really pretty
impressive and a major visual upgrade over what
was there before,” said Alan Huelsman, Berg
Management Company’s general manager. “We
kind of filled in a hole.”
Before
8│TRENDS
After
Funding assistance available
Various state and federal government agencies offer
financial assistance to entice developers to clean up
and redevelop brownfield sites. Ayres Associates’
many years of brownfield experience have given the
company helpful insights into the funding process, which
Scherbert put to work for Berg Management.
“From Day one we had a very good working relationship
with Lynn,” Huelsman said. “She’s been the lead on the
project and has helped us in applying for some grants
to help with the remediation costs. You never quite
know how a grant is going to work and if it’s going to
come through or not. She had a good track record, and
from the first day, we had a very high confidence that
something positive was going to come out of it.”
Scherbert and her team helped secure more than
$750,000 in funding for the Carroll University student
living project. Among the grants awarded were two
state Blight Elimination and Brownfield Redevelopment
Program grants – one for $400,000 and another for
$291,000; a $36,000 Site Assessment Grant from
After