Earlier this year, the Milwaukee Department of City Development issued a request for proposals for the purchase of the former Forest Home Branch Library, 1432 W. Forest Home Ave., which was replaced with a new neighborhood library at 9th and Mitchell last year as part of a mixed use development.
According to David Misky of the city’s Redevelopment Authority, Voces De La Frontera has proposed to purchase the 14,500-square foot former library, built in 1966, for $450,000.
According to Misky, the plan must first go before the City Plan Commission on Oct. 22 and then to the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee meeting on Oct. 30.
If the sale is approved by the committee, it would move to the full Common Council for a vote.
The proposal was the only one received for the property, which had initially been listed at $650,000.
According to a report in the Journal Sentinel, Voces de la Frontera would spend $100,000 to renovate the building, in which it would also lease space to Christopher & De Leon Law Office and Aurora Walker's Point Community Clinic.
Voces de la Frontera, which rents office space at 1027 S. 5th St., is a grass roots organization that works on issues like immigration reform, and education, civil and workers rights.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
