A sign in the vacant lot at the southeast corner of Moreland Boulevard and Delafield Street says a small strip mall is coming in 2014.
That did not happen. Now, halfway through 2015, the site which previously housed a Mack's Frozen Custard remains empty.
What the site does have is plenty of problems that the city and any prospective redevelopers — including one mobile restaurant business which has approached local officials — will have to deal with before the lot can be filled.
Vacant, and uncertain
The weed-filled lot has remnants of a building that wasn't demolished properly.
As of last week, pipes and metals stick out of the ground. Broken tiles are spread across the lot. Lumber and ladders left on the property add to what amounts to an eyesore for nearby residents. There is also an unsightly truck that city aldermen say they are tired of looking at.
The former Mack's Frozen Custard closed in 2011 and the building was taken down in 2012. The goal was for a new multi-tenant building to be constructed that would house restaurants similar to the building across the street that houses Starbucks.
City Planner Doug Koehler said the city's plan commission actually gave the owners, Bill and Steve Nagata, preliminary approval to construct a 3,000-foot building with a drive-thru on site a few years ago.
Koehler said architects for the site told the city several months ago negotiations with tenants are still ongoing.
For their part, the landowners say they're not trying to stand in the way of the property's future use.
'We want to get the site developed,' Steve Nagata said on Monday. 'We want to build something there. We just haven't found a tenant.'
He said multiple brokers have expressed interest in the site but only a couple were qualified to meet the financial demands. They both added they don't want to build a building without the proper tenant lined up.
Frustrated aldermen
However, days earlier, the normally calm Alderman Joe Pieper, whose district borders this area, expressed his frustration with the property's owners for a lack of progress there.
Speaking at a June 10 plan commission meeting, Pieper said, 'I asked city staff to clean up (the site) for four years because the owner of the property has chosen to do nothing. He does nothing. I have zero confidence — I have negative confidence — that the owner of this property is going to do anything to clean up that site.
'We should do nothing with this corner until he complies. I'm sick and tired about this corner. I get calls on it constantly.'
Alderman Eric Payne said he feels the same way.
'Since this closed as an active business, this site has been a thorn in both of our sides,' said Payne, whose district falls includes the property. 'We've tried repeatedly to have staff contact the owner(s) and try to get (them) to comply. I have a real problem with the way this has been handled — not with the city — but the owners' lack of interest in improving the property.
'What I would like to see before any permit even is considered is the city go after him, give (them) X amount of days to properly demo this site and do a clean-up and then come back and talk to us. (They've) had years and years of warnings.'
While the Nagatas admitted that they were negligent in some aspects of the site, the two said they have been working with an agent from state's Department of Natural Resources to remedy the contaminated site, which was previously home to a gas station years ago.
'We haven't been sitting doing nothing,' Bill Nagata said. 'We're actively working with the state.'
The Nagatas added that they complied with one city concern when they received a previous notice from the city on the weeds last year.
Seeking action
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said he plans to meet with City Attorney Brian Running and the city's chief building inspector to expedite the cleanup.
Commissioner Kevin Larson wants to see a resolution soon.
'I encourage all resources to be put in effect on taking care of this problem,' Larson said.
Steve Nagata said he and his brother are in discussions with city's building inspector so the cleanup is done sooner, rather than later. The Nagatas also said that while the entire foundation wasn't capped the first time, they will talk with the inspector to make sure they are following procedure.
'We are sorry people are mad, because we want to work with the city to see what needs to be done and not just do the minimal,' Steve Nagata said.