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Acceptance of donation of remaining portion of Schoonmaker Reef National Historic Landmark to the City of Wauwatosa from Wangard Partners, LLC via quitclaim deed
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Submitted by:
Alan Kesner, City Attorney
David Simpson, Director of Public Works
Department:
Attorney and Public Works
City staff are requesting the acceptance of the transfer of the remaining ortion of the Schoonmaker Reef National Historic Landmark to City Ownership. The current owner plans to complete this transfer in the next few weeks and would like to have the City’s acceptance approved in advance in order to alleviate complications with upcoming transactions related to the land.
Schoonmaker Reef is a 425 million year-old fossil reef located in Wauwatosa that grew during the Silurian Period of Earth's history at a time when much of North America was covered by shallow tropical seas, located just north of State Street between 62nd and 66th Streets. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997. Historically, the Reef has been on private land, so it has not been accessible by the public. There are many online resources describing the Reef and its history, but this one provides a good background:
<https://www.wuwm.com/environment/2016-05-27/did-you-know-theres-an-ancient-coral-reef-in-wauwatosa>
In 2011, Derse Associates donated the eastern portion of the National Landmark area, approximately 2.4 acres, to the City of Wauwatosa. However, the most significant portions of the Reef, primarily the former quarry area which exposed many of the fossils for which the Reef is so well known, has remained in private ownership, and is currently owned by a subsidiary of Wangard Partners as part of the land on which The Reef Apartments has been developed. In conjunction with TIF assistance used as part of the Development of The Reef Apartments, Wangard agreed to donate the remaining land to the City at a future date in order to consolidate the City’s ownership of this important National Landmark. This donation will consist of approximately 1.37 acres immediately west of the land already owned by the City. The donated area is shown on the attached deed and parcel description.
While the space cannot be opened to general public access due to security and safety concerns (the site has a history of individuals trespassing in order to illegally collect fossil samples from the site, further damaging the site with each such effort), the City has made the site available free of charge to school groups, educational organizations and for purposes of academic studies. The Director of Public Works is enthusiastic about creating a program moving forward to improve this access after the City owns the entire site, and is prepared to take this on as an addition to city-managed lands.
Since acquiring ownership of the former Derse parcel, the City has cleaned up the former quarry site, arranged for appropriate fencing and gates to protect this historic property (with some of that cost paid by Wangard), paved a secure parking area suitable for school buses, and demolished a former Derse office building on the site (<https://archive.jsonline.com/newswatch/wauwatosas-historic-schoonmaker-reef-undergoes-restoration-work-b99579010z1-328838971.html>). The City has also developed a paved accessible walkway with benches, providing access to the most significant portions of the Reef, including those located on the Wangard-owned property discussed above. The Historic Preservation Commission has recently arranged and contracted for the creation of interpretive signage to further expand the educational opportunities on the parcel.
The transaction requested today is the acceptance of ownership of the Western portion of the National Historic Landmark from the affiliate of Wangard Associates which currently owns The Reef Apartments, via Quitclaim deed. The deed and property descriptions are attached, and the transfer will be at no cost to the City. Transferring the property to the City will help to clean up the future obligations associated with Wangard’s ownership of this land.
Requested Action:
Authorize appropriate city officials to accept the transfer of the land described on the attached draft quitclaim deed from Tosa Reef LLC on behalf of the City.
recommendation
Recommendation: Common Council