City Officials in No Rush to Raze Historic Building

Though no offers are in place for the purchase of the former M&I buildings, the real estate agent for the properties has asked for a six-month extension to work out a sale rather than simply demolish the buildings, according to the Ozaukee Press.

The buildings are currently under an . The agreement was reached on May 4, and stated that if Port Harbor Investment LLC is unable to sell the property in six months, the buildings will have to be razed.

Harm Modder and Robert Duzinske with plans to renovate the area into a more useful downtown structure. But, .

Modder, shortly after starting this venture, was diagnosed with brain cancer and started chemotherapy treatments. Despite Modder's condition, the two businessmen still went to the city with a development proposal along with what they thought was the needed financing commitment to fund the project; little did they know that the man providing the financial backing would wind up in court in Illinois on charges that he ran an illegal money scheme, according to Port Harbor's Attorney Mark Hazelbaker. Modder died last December.

These roadblocks left the buildings sitting in disrepair and posing a potential danger to people walking by them. Port Harbor never followed through on its promise to repair the buildings and the city filed a lawsuit in November 2008 asking that the buildings be declared a public nuisance, which meant a judge could order it repaired or razed.

City officials and Port Harbor Investments spent the next several years stuck with this lawsuit, before City Attorney Eric Eberhardt with Port Harbor in the lawsuit in February, under which the company agreed to raze the buildings at 122 N. Franklin St. between March 1 and April 15.  In return, the city would drop the suit.

But the council refused to approve that agreement and instead asked Eberhardt to research more appealing options, eventually leading them to decide on this six-month agreement.