Over the summer the New Berlin Planning Commission, who are all appointed by Mayor Dave Ament, rejected a $170 Million dollar privately funded destination youth tournament baseball complex. This complex would have been built off Grange Avenue just east of Costco and drawn thousands of families from across the country to the area every week. Those families would have patronized local businesses including restaurants, hotels, and The Ridge movie theater.
Members of the New Berlin Planning Commission told the developer the plan would not get approved. When the developer pushed for ‘next steps’ the city attorney sent a letter to the developer indicating the project was ‘not in the best interest of the city’. The New Berlin Taxpayers Alliance has a copy of this letter.
On December 8th the New Berlin planning commission APPROVED a massive “men’s only” “rehabilitation” facility for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission https://milmission.org/ which provides services to homeless and troubled individuals. This proposed facility would provide services to men only.
https://www.newberlinwi.gov/2504/Milwaukee-Rescue-Mission—New-Journey
Critics of the development point to statistics showing 3/4’s of homeless individuals have severe mental health issues including alcohol/drug addition, schizophrenia, and major depression and ask why these people are being imported from Milwaukee to New Berlin where they have no ties to the community? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8423293/
A supporter of the development expressed a sentiment that:
“the work they do there getting people clean and productive is exactly what New Berlin wants. Do you want people contributing to society or not? There has to be work done to get them from addict to productive citizen”
Is the New Berlin Planning Commission acting in the best interest of the RESIDENTS of the city? What would residents have preferred, a showcase destination youth sports complex, or a homeless rehabilitation facility?
Information from the city (see previous link) indicates action will be taken on a meeting on January 13th, 2026 but it is unclear if residents will have a chance to participate in the discussion. You are encouraged to reach out to the mayor and your alderman to express your thoughts on this development and get more information on the upcoming meeting time/agenda
See the following link for phone numbers and email addresses for the mayor and alderman. https://www.newberlinwi.gov/300/Common-Council
New Berlin Taxpayers Alliance 