The owner of an evacuated Milwaukee apartment building faces possible prosecution under an emergency DNR order

The state Department of Natural Resources is threatening prosecution against the developer of a north side Milwaukee affordable apartment building that was evacuated March 25 after dangerous levels of a cancer-causing chemical were found, according to an emergency DNR order obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

The emergency order issued Friday gives the owners of Community Within The Corridor East Block two business days to provide extensive documentation on the system that is meant to guard against toxic vapors seeping into people's living spaces ― including maps and all data collected to-date. The order also seeks previously unsubmitted information about excavation of contaminated soil, materials used to backfill excavations and descriptions about how the building's floors were sealed.

The developers will have 45 days to document the outcome of their cleanup efforts, the order said.

"This Order is enforceable through prosecution by the Attorney General," it reads.

More than 150 residents of Community Within The Corridor East Block, 2748 N. 32nd St., were ordered to evacuate their homes on March 25.

The Milwaukee Health Department order came a day after the DNR informed the health department about elevated levels of the chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, at the building that was once part of the now-redeveloped Briggs & Stratton complex. Exposure to elevated levels of TCE vapors increases the risk for health effects such as certain cancers and birth defects, according to health officials.

The residents have yet to return to their homes.

The developers in a statement late Friday said they had been working with state officials since the evacuation order.

"Community Within the Corridor LLP has been working closely with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources over the past week to address environmental concerns impacting part of its housing development. Those efforts will continue, and we will comply with all requirements stipulated in the DNR's order," they said in the statement.

Lead developer Que El-Amin's development firm, Scott Crawford Inc., worked with local investors Mikal Wesley, president of Urbane Communities LLC, and  Rayhainio "Ray Nitti" Boynes, who operates The Creative Corridor Inc. The local developers in 2017 also partnered with Minneapolis-based apartment development firm Roers Co.

DNR warned of TCE risks in 2020

Gov. Tony Evers said the DNR repeatedly recommended to the development team that "no one" live in the building.

"They said this is not a place that people should be living in. They made that recommendation more than once," Evers said during a stop in Racine on Thursday. "And apparently the people that are in charge of that facility decided not to take their recommendation. And not to tell us."

The emergency order from the DNR also says that as far back as December 2020, the agency had advised the development team that sampling needed to be conducted "after the redevelopment is complete."

Those warnings continued in the ensuing years, according to a timeline provided in the order.

That includes a warning as recently as January, when the DNR raised concerns about a plan dated Dec. 23 to commission the vapor mitigation system. The department had received the plan on Dec. 28, according to emails publicly available on the DNR's website.

"In consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, the DNR strongly recommends completing all necessary rounds of commissioning prior to any occupancy to avoid potentially exposing future residents to indoor air contamination that may present acute health risks," wrote Jane K. Pfeiffer, DNR hydrogeologist for the Remediation and Redevelopment Program.

DNR officials said the department was unaware until March 22 that the apartments were occupied.

Evers added, "We can talk about the mess that was made because they went against our recommendation. But at the end of the day now we have to be spending our time (working on) how we're going to solve this problem. That's the most important thing."

City, state officials cast blame over building occupancy

Evers also cast blame on the City of Milwaukee over communication lapses with the state, and the order references a Jan. 12 meeting between city and state officials.

The order said the purpose of the Jan. 12 meeting was in part to "to discuss DNR concerns" about the plans for the vapor mitigation system that had been submitted ― and the plan to occupy the building.

But residents had already begun moving into the apartment building late last year.

Exactly what was communicated at that meeting between representatives of the DNR, the state Department of Health Services, the Milwaukee Health Department and the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services remains unclear.