The City of Sheboygan, WI is a card carrying member of the waterfront revolution. The South Pier of the Sheboygan Harbor for decades was cluttered with piles of coal, salt, fertilizer, and other industrial materials. The 40-acre parcel was inaccessible and impassable to residents and visitors - a barrier not only to beautiful Lake Michigan but also the city's hope to prosper.
So city officials bought the property in 2001. And in short order, public and private operators invested approximately $80 million in the cleanup and redevelopment of the pier. The reclamation plan is putting underutilized properties back on the tax rolls, establishing new businesses, and generating jobs. Now developers are interested in neighboring real estate such as the old Reiss Coal Company Building pictured above. Construction workers are busy transforming the historic building into luxury lofts and apartments beside the Sheboygan River.
"This is the biggest success story on the shores of Lake Michigan," said Sheboygan Mayor Juan Perez at a community forum today.
What's next? Residents and local leaders are organizing to clean up the chemical contamination in the harbor. The project could add as much as $108 million to local real estate values, according to researchers at the University of Illinois.
