USA: Zilber purchase of Pabst Brewery complex delayed

Zilber Ltd.'s pending purchase of the Pabst Brewery complex near downtown Milwaukee has been delayed, the firm said June 15, The Business Journal of Milwaukee posted June 15.

"At the request of the City of Milwaukee, both parties have agreed to extend the closing date for the purchase of the Pabst Brewery site to a date no later than August 15, 2006," the company said in a statement. "The Department of City Development asked that it be given more time to work with Mr. Zilber and his organization on the terms and conditions that will be required for the public private partnership that will allow the project to proceed with the greatest possible potential for success."

Zilber Ltd., a real estate investment and development company led by Joseph Zilber, has a purchase agreement to buy the property from Wispark L.L.C., the real estate development subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corp., Milwaukee. Wispark and its partners bought the Pabst complex in September 2002 for US$10.3 million.

Zilber spokesman Mike Mervis said in the statement that "it was important that the parties have the time to carefully and thoroughly spell out a plan before Mr. Zilber proceeds with any environmental remediation or construction work."

In an effort to spur interest in downtown Milwaukee's Pabst Brewery redevelopment project, Zilber Ltd. shared its US$200 million to US$300 million conceptual plans in April on a project called The Brewery with more than 150 Milwaukee-area real estate brokers and developers.

The conceptual plans include over 500 residential units and over 700,000 square feet of office and retail.

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