At first glance, it might be hard to imagine the land surrounding the City of Wauwatosa's Department of Public Works building as ripe for development.
To the west of the building sits the city's garbage drop-off site and yard waste operations. To the north is the fire department's training facility. To the east are railroad tracks, and to the south is the city's former landfill, a bald hill known informally as "Mount Tosa."
Yet the city also has long wondered whether any of this space could be put to better use. A 2015 report identifies 88 acres of city-owned property in the neighborhood, including the nearby Wauwatosa Police Department, as a central feature of what it aspirationally dubbed "Redevelopment District No. 1."
More recently, some of those acres have begun taking on a new life. In May 2025, the city officially opened the redeveloped northwest corner of the public parcel as Firefly Grove Park. Now, city officials are gauging the feasibility of moving the yard waste operations to the Mount Tosa site, which could open up the current yard waste site to future private development and help expand the city's tax base.
The 2026 city budget, scheduled to be adopted by the Common Council at its 7 p.m. Nov. 18 meeting, includes $42,000 for consulting services "if a phase II is required for the redevelopment of the landfill site."
Development Director Mark Hammond explained at a committee meeting in October that the city is not actively trying to redevelop the landfill but rather is studying whether moving the yard waste operations there would open up other opportunities, at which point a consultant would be hired in the next phase.
Hammond later clarified to Tosa Forward News that city officials had considered proposals in the past to create development or some other new use for the top of Mount Tosa, only to run into a wall of environmental regulations and site challenges inherent to landfill redevelopment.
City officials realized "we've got what we think is much more suitable redevelopment land right next door" at the yard waste site, Hammond said.
That said, there are not yet any active plans to redevelop that site either. City officials may soon consult with the state Department of Natural Resources on the feasibility of moving the yard waste operation onto a portion of the former landfill site. Even then, the current yard waste site would require further study determine its suitability for redevelopment.
The 2015 report outlining the city's plan for Redevelopment District No. 1 envisions "converting a deteriorating area of Walnut and Mayfair roads into a vibrant, mixed use district." The plan divides the district in half, with the city parcels taking up the bulk of the district west of the railroad tracks. The portion east of the tracks includes properties on the Mayfair Road commercial strip from North Avenue south nearly to Watertown Plank Road.
"By creating physical and economic vitality, eliminating blight and ensuring appropriate land uses, the city will be able to provide high-quality development that is tax generating and an attractive destination for new and existing residents," the plan says. "Accompanying this with environmental remediation, streetscape and public space improvements in the area will ensure a reuse strategy that is comprehensive in addressing site challenges and constraints while maximizing opportunities."
The plan also identifies the city's Public Works land as a priority because of its "shovel-readiness for redevelopment and/or reuse for light industrial and clean manufacturing. ... Other potential uses could include single-family residential development of high-quality architectural design, as well as attractive green spaces."
A conceptual plan for the district's redevelopment also identifies residential use as possible on the portion of the district now occupied by the city's yard waste operations. If such redevelopment eventually moves forward, it could mirror the residential complexes that have been built in the past 15 years on formerly city-owned property south of Walnut Road.
Separately, the city began this year studying options for creating a Walnut Road railroad underpass, which would eliminate the potentially dangerous street-level railroad crossing there and improve public access to the redevelopment district from Mayfair Road.
- David Paulsen, a Tosa East Towne resident and editor of Tosa Forward News, has more than 25 years of experience as a professional journalist. He can be reached at editor@tosanews.com.
