FROM THE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Franklin’s Common Council has approved a new TIF district that is the next step for financing a proposed sports complex project. In a concept developed by Vandewalle & Associates, the complex is envisioned to include shopping, luxury apartments, restaurants and potentially a hotel. The centerpiece of Ballpark Commons would be a 2,500-seat baseball stadium and a 25,000-square-foot indoor sports complex that would host independent professional baseball teams, University of Wisconsin baseball games, and little league events. Developer Mike Zimmerman, who owns the Milwaukee Wave soccer team, hopes to develop the Commons adjacent to his outdoor sports complex, The Rock, creating a larger sports district. If the project is built, the new property taxes generated by Ballpark Commons would pay back the city’s funds for improvements to sewer, street and other project costs by 2034.
