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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...
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