[miltowng]

A nice picture of Milwaukee from jsonline.com
http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/brew/img/sep04/mpark922.jpg

[cubercle]

look at how kilbourn tower fills that gap.

that is a nice picture!
it should pan more north, though.
that would be the one to show people who think milwaukee is "small".

[Markitect]

look at how kilbourn tower fills that gap.

Speaking of which, University Club Tower is supposed to break ground Monday (Sept. 27), according to what I read a few weeks ago. So in that photo, it'll rise up immediately to the right of Kilbourn Tower.

that is a nice picture!
it should pan more north, though.
that would be the one to show people who think milwaukee is "small".

Yep. Pretty much everyone not from Milwaukee always forgets about our second skyline. There are a few really good parcels at the top of the bluff along Prospect Avenue that I think are being "reserved" for future development of high-rise residential towers--to go with the rest of them we already have.

[theodore]

That is a great shot, I must say.

[pip]

At the end of North Ave. near the lake there is a roundabout with a classic old building on the North Side of the roundabout. When I lived there I signed a petition to preserve the building. The hospital wanted to knock it down and build new. What happenned?

[Markitect]

At the end of North Ave. near the lake there is a roundabout with a classic old building on the North Side of the roundabout. When I lived there I signed a petition to preserve the building. The hospital wanted to knock it down and build new. What happenned?

Those plans changed as a result of the preservation effort. The older (oldest) portions of St. Mary's Hospital will now be saved; and some of the more modern additions to the hospital campus will be demolished to make room for the new expansion.

[pip]

Great news. That is a fantastic building and I'm glad the older, relatively speaking, new stuff is going.

[cubercle]

i hope they don't demolish that squiggly-ass part.

[pip]

They need to demolish those crappy houses surrounded by fence that belong in the burbs that are part of the hospital complex.

[Markitect]

i hope they don't demolish that squiggly-ass part.

The "squiggly" walls of Seton Tower make for really small patient rooms; and the rest of the building is obsolete. It will be demolished.

They need to demolish those crappy houses surrounded by fence that belong in the burbs that are part of the hospital complex.

Those were demolished a while ago already, along with the old Heiser Ford deaership across the street, in preparation for the new hospital facilities.

[Markitect]

Some stats about a very small handfull of recent Downtown condo developments in Milwaukee, from the Journal Sentinel:

RiverCourt (completed August 2004)
Vetter Denk
24 units/18 sold
Starting price = $259,900

Park Terrace (broke ground September 2004)
Vetter Denk
37 units/hearly half sold
Starting price = $266,400 (row houses); $399,900 (single-family houses)

Riverbridge (under construction)
New Land Enterprises
39 units/38 sold (first phase)
39 units/26 sold (second pahse)
39 units/5 sold (third phase)
Starting price = $175,000

The Sterling (under construction)
New Land Enterprises
112 units/12 sold
Starting price = $169,900

CityGreen (breaks ground Fall 2004)
New Land Enterprises
44 units/9 sold
Starting price = $355,000

University Club Tower (breaks ground Spetember 2004)
Mandel Group
56 units/36 sold
Price range = $1.5 million to $2.5 million

RiverCrest (under construction)
Mandel Group
12 units/2 sold (first phase)
Starting price = $269,900

Marine Terminal Lofts (marketing phase)
Mandel Group
84 units/none sold; 18 reservations
Starting price = $164,900

Harbor Front (under construction)
Renner
80 units/52 sold (first phase)
Starting price = $199,500

First Place on the River (marketing phase)
Keybridge Development
180 units/none sold; 45 reservations
Starting price = $150,000

Kilbourn Tower (under construction)
Fiduciary Real Estate Development
74 units/44 sold
Price range = $750,000 to $2.2 million

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/owhomes/img/sep04/harborbig0926.jpg

^ The first phase of the Harbor Front condos under construction along the banks of the Milwaukee River in the Third Ward, near the former Chicago & North Western railroad swing bridge.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/owhomes/img/sep04/condobig0926.jpg

^ The Harbor Front condos as seen from E. Erie Street.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/owhomes/img/sep04/waterfrontbig0926.jpg

^ The Waterfront Condominiums, RiverWalk, and boat piers along the Milwaukee River in Walker's Point. They were developed in 2002, along S. Water Street.

Read the article from the Journal Sentinel for more info: Quantity a quandary for downtown condos - With more units for sale, buyers likely to demand higher quality (http://www.jsonline.com/homes/buy/sep04/261200.asp)

***

Groundbreaking for University Club Tower (right next door to Kilbourn Tower, already under construction) will happen this Monday, September 27. The Journal Sentinel has a brief article describing these two towers, and who can afford to live in them: High-rises at Kilbourn share high prices (http://www.jsonline.com/homes/buy/sep04/261202.asp)

[dnast]

Those waterfront projects look nice! It's also good that there are a number of projects with condos that sell for under $200,000. A lot of cities aren't seeing that right now.

[CityGawd5]

i hope they don't demolish that squiggly-ass part.

The "squiggly" walls of Seton Tower make for really small patient rooms; and the rest of the building is obsolete. It will be demolished.


OH MY GOD. Say it isn't so!!!! I swear on my grandmother's grave, that is one of my favorite buildings in Milwaukee.

[Markitect]

Surely there must be some bad news to go along with all the recent good news about Milwaukee development...?

Pabst Brewing has filed a lawsuit against developers of PabstCity for trademark infringement--a $250,000 payment or a court orrder to prohibit the Pabst name from being used with the project. In the past, developers had been working with the brewing company on a licensing agreement ($250,000 to use the name for 25 years, plus $100,000 for each 10-year period renewed after that, plus 5% of sales from items bearing the Pabst name or logo), but says the developers have not yet signed the agreement...all the while still using the Pabst name to market the project.

This is in addition to the developers scrambling around trying to come up with funding for the project so their development proposal can be approved.

Read more in the Journal Sentinel article: Pabst sues developers over use of name - Brewer wants $250,000 from creators of planned PabstCity project (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/sep04/263125.asp)

***

In other news, construction of the new Sheraton hotel across from the convention center was to begin Thursday, only to be delayed after some environmental contamination was found on the site. The construction company must now conduct further investigation and write a clean-up plan to be approved by the DNR.

Here's the Journal Sentinel article: Hotel project is delayed for environmental cleanup (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/sep04/263115.asp)

[Markitect]

The Redevelopment Authority approved a redevelopment plan for the proposed Harley-Davidson Museum on Thursday. The plan outlines general guidelines for the project, and must still be approved by the Common Council.

However, there are still concerns about site design, namely public access issues to the new streets and riverwalk that will be built as part of the museum complex. The expansive surface parking lots on all four corners of the prominant intersection at 6th and W. Canal Streets is also a major concern.

See the Journal Sentinel for the short article: Agency approves plan for Harley museum - Site gets OK despite concerns about public access to riverfront (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/oct04/266742.asp)

[CityGawd5]

MSPtoMKE and I spent Sunday night and Monday afternoon showing DallasTexan and jada around Milwaukee (East Side, Downtown, Third Ward), and they LOVED it. My favorite quote from the trip would have to be from DT, who said "Wow...Milwaukee's like...a city." Just thought you'd like to know how much some out-of-towners enjoyed our city. :)

[theodore]

I just read that the former Kohl's grocery store building on KK in Bay View, which has been vacant for a few years now I believe, has been bought by OUTPOST for their third Milwaukee location.


Yep.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Sooooo . . . what's the deal here?

You guys have the "What about Milwaukee" thread in SSC. And you also have this one here.

Can't you guys ever stop talking? ;)

[Markitect]

PabstCity developers may be downsizing their $395 million plan to redevelop the vacant brewery complex in order to gain City approval for tax increment financing (TIF) that would help cover the cost of the project. In a TIF, a municipality borrows funds to pay for public improvements and infrastructure installation, such as sewer or water, or to pay for the environmental cleanup of the site. A municipality then uses the increase in property taxes to pay off the debt.

Earlier this year, developers were going to request a $75 million TIF for PabstCity, but were met with opposition from Mayor Barrett and some Common Council members over such a high subsidy. Also at issue was the questionable use of that TIF money--developers wanted to use nearly $39 million of it to build three large parking structures for the project.

No specific details of the project's scale-backs have were reported, but they likely include a downsizing the parking component.

Meanwhile, developers are still facing issues of acquiring financing from other sources, the lawsuit with Pabst Brewing Company for trademark infringement, and another legal battle between the different groups of developers working on the project (a "little guy developer" versus "the "big-guy" corporate developers).

Here's the article from the Business Journal: PabstCity project likely to shrink (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/11/01/story3.html)

***

The Milwaukee School of Engineering recently opened it's new athletic facility, the Kern Center, in Downtown Milwaukee at the corner of E. Knapp Street and N. Broadway. The Kern Center hosts an arena, a fitness center, wrestling rooms, locker rooms, recreational basketball and tennis courts, a running track, a basement ice hockey rink, classrooms, offices, a coffe bar, and an underground garage for 50 cars. The building has a very bold, contemporary appearance with its glassy atrium. It is a fantastic small-scale addition to the city--especially for something that could have been a simple giant, ugly box.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's architecture/urban design critic, Whitney Gould, gives here review: Bold and big, MSOE's Kern Center is a sleek celebration of engineering (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/oct04/271310.asp)

Also check out MSOE's Kern Center webpage, which gives all the details, construction photos, etc.: MSOE - Kern Center (http://www.msoe.edu/kerncenter/)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/oct04/kern103104.jpg

^ MSOE's Kern Cetner sits amidst several blocks of land opened up for development when the Park East Freeway was demolished. The land in the foreground will be developed in the near future.


http://www.msoe.edu/kerncenter/graphics/dusk.jpg

^ The Kern Center at night.

***

This past Wednesday, the Common Counci approved redevelopment plans for the propoesed Harley-Davidson museum site at 6th and W. Canal Streets. The plan sets guidelines for the redevelopment project. In conjunction with the plan, the Common Council also approved to sell the city-owned land to Harley, and approved $7 million to help finance construction of the project.

The first phase of the project, whcih Harley hopes to have complete by 2008, will include the museum, a restaurant, banquet space, and meeting rooms.

Here's the article from the Journal Sentinel: Council OKs plan for Harley museum site (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/nov04/272122.asp)

[CGII]

Wow..it amazes me that a Milwaukee thread exceeded 13 pages...

anyway, I went downtown a bit today and I'm going back down tomorrow. Any requests for any developements in progress?

Today I ate at the Edwardo's near Cathedral Sq., and I saw Kilbourn staring down at me! I was amazed at how asian looking it was, very slender, very tall. I've been waiting such a long time for a project like this to come. :) I can't wait for University Club.

[MSPtoMKE]

^Have you not seen the What About Milwaukee Thread at SSC that CG5 started oh so many years ago? The current incarnation is on page 56, depending on your forum display settings, with 1394 replies.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=806&page=56&pp=25

[CGII]

yeah, i remember that one, I jsut don't remember it getting that long....
anyway,I jsut took a 300+ photo tour of the South Shore, the East Side, Downtown, Pigsville, and the valley. i can't wait to get his one up. I jsut went over and took loads of pix of Kilbourn towr from that little park just northeast of it. Amazing how fast it's going up :)

[CGII]

i hope they don't demolish that squiggly-ass part.

The "squiggly" walls of Seton Tower make for really small patient rooms; and the rest of the building is obsolete. It will be demolished.


That's too bad. I was born behind those squiggly walls. :(

[Markitect]

Lots of development news today from the Business Journal...

Earlier this summer, the City's Common Council finally approved a redevelopment plan for the Park East corridor, as well as shooting down a proposal for a community benefits agreement that would attach affordable housing and wage/hiring requirements to any projects built on City-owned land within the area. Critics argued that such mandates could discourage developers from building there due to increased costs, and they won. No community benefits mandates for City-owned land in the Park East area.

In recent weeks the same debate has resurfaced at the County-level--and the County Board supports such mandates for County-onwed land in the Park East area. Once again, critics are arguing against community benefit agreements, but they are falling on deaf ears among the County Board, and the lack of a definative decision is one of the things preventing the land from being opened for redevelopment. The longer the debate, the longer developers have to wait, the longer the land sits empty, and development opportunities slip away.

In a brilliant move, the City is investigating the possibility of purchasing the County-owned land in the corridor through the Redevelopment Authority (a City government agency) and the Milwaukee Development Corporation (a non-profit organization); that way, the land would be under the control of the City, which has already denied such mandates.

The downside--it could cost the City $20-plus million for the land, or the County may simply not be interested in selling

Here's the article: Park East: City seeks county land to 'jump-start' development (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/11/22/story1.html?page=1)

***

Here is an editorial from the Business Journal about the County Board's proposal for community benefits mandates: County board hampers Park East projects (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/11/22/editorial1.html)

***

Once again, there is a proposal for a sports stadium to be built in the Park East corridor. This time around, a sports development company called CollegeTown is proposing a football stadium for UWM, which would also include retail and commercial spaces. This seems to be in the extremely preliminary, let's-kick-around-some-ideas phase (so there don;t seem to be any renderings or anything like that) and has some extrememly major hurdles to overcome--namely the fact that UWM doesn't have a football prorgam; and the University is unlikely to even consider creating one unless someone ponies up $15 million or so to get the ball rolling...er, tossed.

Sharing a new stadium with other schools could be a possibility, too. The Milwaukee School of Engineering (which a couple weeks ago opened its indoor athletic facility, the Kern Center, a few blocks away) hasn't been approached, but could benefit from having a stadium for its soccer, baseball, and track teams closer to the downtown campus. Marquette University is not interested in re-establishing its football program.

Earlier Park East stadium proposals include a 1998 plan for a mixed-use soccer stadium for an MLS expansion team (which never materialized, as it was a few years before the freeway demolition was ever approved); and a plan from the early-1990s for a downtown baseball stadium for the Brewers (owner Bud Selig wasn't interested).

See the article for more: Park East: Greenberg floats stadium site for new UWM football team (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/11/22/story2.html?page=1)

***

Developers New Covenant Housing Corp. has submitted proposals for an inner city redevelopment project on the site of the former Finney Library at W. North Avenue and N. Sherman Boulevard. The first phase includes plans for a Digital Outpost Cyber Spot Coffee Shop, and possibly an ice cream parlor and bookstore. A proposed second phase calls for demolishing some adjacent buildings to make room for more retail space, 6 apartments, and 8 townhouses.

Check out the article for details: New Covenant's proposal calls for retail, housing (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/11/22/story8.html)

[CityGawd5]

Well it's no major construction project, but this is interesting:

Time Warner Cable puts retail in picture at Wauwatosa store

Mayfair Mall outlet, opening today, is 1st in country for company

Wauwatosa - The first Time Warner Cable retail store in the U.S. opens Tuesday at Mayfair Mall, offering customer service and product demonstrations in a high-tech setting.

The 4,000-square-foot prototype is being launched as the nation's No. 2 cable operator is seeing market share erode because to intense competition from satellite dish operators. But sales of extra services, such as digital cable and high-speed Internet service, are boosting revenue for the New York media giant's cable division.

The test store at Mayfair, on the north end of the first level next to Marshall Field's, provides a showcase for those add-ons, as well as for Time Warner's newest offering, digital telephone service.

Like Apple's retail store down the corridor, the Time Warner store is striking and sleek in design, but it is larger and a blaze of colors, instead of an all-white motif. The Time Warner store features more than 40 plasma-screen TVs and a nine-screen video display that can run separate programs or a single huge image.

"It allows us to have a warm, hands-on touch with our customers," said Bev Greenberg, vice president of public affairs for Time Warner's Milwaukee office.

The store includes a home theater where visitors can learn how to use cable upgrades such as digital remote control and digital video recording. Consumers also can try out computers equipped with Road Runner high-speed transmission lines and meet with Time Warner representatives to plan wiring for home construction.

In addition, customers will be able to handle routine transactions such as bill payment and the return of converter boxes.

If the store is a success, Time Warner will open similar venues around around the country, but no other leases have been signed yet, said Makesha Benson, director of sales channels for Time Warner in Milwaukee.

According to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Time Warner cable revenue increased for the nine months that ended Sept. 30, to $5.9 billion from $5.4 billion. Increases from sales of high-speed data and advanced digital video services drove the gain.

Basic cable subscribers declined 0.3% in September compared with September 2003, totaling 10.9 million nationally. In Wisconsin, Time Warner Cable serves 450,000 customers.

During the same period, digital video subscribers increased 11%, and residential high-speed subscribers increased 22%.

Time Warner's Milwaukee operation is the company's fourth-largest, following those in New York, Houston and the Carolinas, Greenberg said.

Benson said Time Warner chose Mayfair because the mall draws 5 million visitors. "That competes with any other mall in the country," Benson said.

The company operates customer service offices in Plymouth, Racine, Kenosha, Greenfield, West Allis, Milwaukee and Cedarburg, which will stay open. An office in Wauwatosa, across the street from Mayfair, will close, Greenberg said.

[Markitect]

Milwaukee's lakefront will soon be home to another park. After several years of delays, work is set to begin this coming spring to convert a small man-made island into Lakeshore State Park. The island, which was created years ago off the shore of Maier Festival Park (Summerfest grounds) from displaced soil and rocks from the Deep Tunnel sewer project, will have docks, overnight camping for boaters, fishing areas, hiking trails, and a new breakwater.

Final approval from the Common Council is expected later this month.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/dec04/park120904.jpg

^ The future site of Lakeshore State Park along the Downtown lakefront is an excellent place to catch a glimpse of Milwaukee's growing skyline. Note Kilbourn Tower, soon to be topped out.

Check out the Journal Sentinel article for more: Lakeshore park work could start in spring (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/dec04/282361.asp)

[Markitect]

One of several endangered buildings at the Zablocki Vetrerans Affairs Medical Center will be preserved with a grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The VA hospital grounds were established in the years after the Civil War, but today some of the buildings are underutilized, dilapidated, and/or in danger of being demolished to support new development. The grant will be used to rehabilitate the Surgeons Quarters, built in 1887, into a small housing and rehabilitation facility for homeless veterans and other medical patients. Officials hope this effort will get the ball rolling to rehabilitate other buildings on the VA grounds.

Read the details in this article from the Journal Sentinel: Old VA building to get new use - Homeless veterans, others to share housing (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/dec04/285617.asp)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/dec04/vets122004.jpg

^ The former Surgeons Quarters at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and gravestones at Wood National Cemetery.

***

Two art installations have been proposed for Veteran's Park on the lakefront. The problem is, they're proposed for the same location.

The first is a life-like scultpure commemorating the Great Circus Parade (an annual Milwaukee tradition, once again on indefinite hiatus due to funding shortages). The sculpture features bronze likenesses of Ben Barkin, Chappie Fox, and Bob Uihlein (who were instrumental figures in producing the parade), and a replica of the popular Cinderella circus wagon pulled by two ponies. The problem is, this proposal was thought to be dead after supporters let the paperwork and fundraising deadline expired. Now that another sculpture has been proposed for the site, circus statue supporters suddenly want another shot at it.

The second, and most recent, proposal is for an interactive, abstract sculpture called "Wind Leaves." The installation is a forest of sail-like sculptures with shiny silver discs which will move in the wind, glimmer in the sunlight, and are interactive--viewers will be able to turn the sails.

Check out the editorial from the Journal Sentinel for the debate: Circus Parade memorial is out of step (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/dec04/285590.asp)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/dec04/gould122004.jpg

^ A rendering of the Great Circus Parade sculpture proposed for Veteran's Park.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/dec04/gould2122004.jpg

^ A model of the "Wind Leaves" sculpture for Veteran's Park.

***
Part of the Columbia-St. Mary's Hospital campus consolidation and redevelopment on the East Side could include a new grocery store. As part of the upcoming hospital project, Columbia-St. Mary's purchased and demolished the Heiser Ford dealership at N. Prospect and E. North Avenues. Current plans for the site call for an 8-story medical office building and 600-car parking garage; the reaminder of the site would be open for other development.

Milwaukee-based Roundy's is exploring the possibility of building a Pick n' Save Metro Market--an upscale and small-format grocery store, similar to the one recently opened in Downtown. Austin-based Whole Foods, an upscale/natural/organic grocery retailer, is interested in the site as well (and has previously looked at other sites in the Downtown area).

More info in the Business Journal article: Grocery store wars: Roundy's, Whole Foods consider St. Mary's site for stores (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/12/20/story2.html?page=1)

[Markitect]

First, a bit of old news, because it relates to some new news...

The law firm of Quarles & Brady is working with several developers on options for a new building to house their offices in Milwaukee. Currently, the law firm leases space in 411 Building on E. Wisconsin Avenue.

Development proposals are expected to include office, retail, condominium, and possibly hotel space. Six possible downtown sites are under consideration:

- A parking structure located to the south of the US Bank Center, owned by US Bank

- Another adjacent site on E. Michigan Street owned by US Bank, currently occupied by the "Downtown Transit Transit Center" (over-glorified bus garage/turn-around)

- A parking garage on N. Water Street owned by the Marcus Center for Performing Arts--which happens to already have the Ovation Plaza mixed-use proposal, in need of an anchor tenant

- A surface parking lot at N. Jackson and E. Mason streets

- Another surface parking lot at N. Jackson and E. Michigan streets

- A possible "second tower" for the 1000 N. Water building, on top of the existing parking garage

In addition, Quarles & Brady has not yet ruled out renewing the lease at the 411 Building, however, the firm is expected to be reviewing proposals form developers very soon.

The article speculates the US Bank sites to be a prime choice for such a mixed-use development.

More info can be found in this article from the Business Journal: Quarles in quest for new downtown office tower - Six sites emerge as Milwaukee law firm reviews its options (http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/01/10/story1.html?page=1)

***

And now in somewhat, possibly, related news, US Bancorp is exploring the possibility of a second tower at the US Bank Center, which could include space for offices (25,000 sq ft), condominiums (possibly up to 20 floors), and hotel/retail space on the lower floors. The site under consideration is the aforementioned parking garage on E. Michigan Street, which is located to the south of the existing 42-story tower.

There have been numerous proposals for a second tower at the US Bank (formerly Firstar) Center over the years; none ever came to fruition. This latest proposal is still extremely preliminary and speculative--detailed information is either not yet available, or just being witheld for the time being. US Bank is also reportedly awaiting to hear results from the Quarles & Brady development/site search, which includes this US Bank property (though one could speculate it would be natural for the two firms to team up on this).

Read this Business Journal article for more: Twin towers could soar at U.S. Bank - Second skyscraper would include upscale condos (http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/02/07/story1.html?page=1)

[CityGawd5]

Twin tower? I hope they mean fraternal, but this would be exciting.


I was just at the old Vet's Center today...it's a hidden gem, that's for sure. A bit off the beaten path, but well worth finding.

[MSPtoMKE]

It must be true, Mark Belling was talking about it on the radio....


Just kidding, that is what i heard, i don't listen to that kind of crap. Anyways, i am not going to raise my hopes, but sounds good if it happens. I am pretty sure it would be a fraternal twin, CG5. ;)

[Boatnurd]

Has anyone seen any renderings of this twin tower project?

[theodore]

It's just a proposal at this point. I wouldn't expect to see detailed renderings anytime soon.

Oh, and if you didn't know, most of the Milwaukee talk goes on HERE (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=428).

[Markitect]

PabstCity developers recently scaled back plans to redevelop the former brewery complex into a mixed-use enetertainment, retail, office, and residential center. Earlier plans were expected to cost $395 million, and involved a $75 million request for City funding using tax incremental financing. Such a high request threw up red flags with Mayor Barrett and the Common Council who questioned the need for such a high City subsidy (traditionally the City has used a 10 percent guideline for tax incremental financing--which that proposal exceeded), and there were concerns over what the money would be used for.

Developers went back and reworked their proposal, which now calls for a $317, and a request for a $39 million TIF--which still excedes the traditional 10% guideline, but seems to be more favorable to the mayor and Common Council. Cutting costs, however, means developers are now planning to demolish more of the old brewery buildings than originally proposed--which has raised concerns from local preservationists.

Developers say the new additions to the "demolish list" would be costly to renovate (they have found more structural problems and general neglect than originally anticipated), difficult to lease (large volumes of window-less space, which apparently could not have windows punched through them because it would alter the historic character of the buildings--at least according to some federal agencies who were contacted for funding possibilities), and have layouts that would be reltaively unusable to tenants in some cases. Preservationists claim those buildings are now planned for demolition because are looking to cut costs because they have not landed enough tenants.

But developers still plan to retain the most architecturally significant buldings within the brewery complex, which happen to be the oldest and most interesting (the former keg house, brew house, mill house, bottling house, and office/gift shop). Buildings originally slated for demolition were the more modern facilities, which have next to no redeeming or interesting characteristics at all (the distribution center, canning facility, and grain elevator/silos (probably the most interesting of this group, and it is unfortunate they were not considered to be saved and rehabbed into something)). The buildings added to the demolish list include some storage and fermenting facilities and the former malt house.

Developers will make a presentation to the Historic Preservation Comission later this month, which will them make a recommendation to the Common Council on whether the buildings should be demolished.

Check out this Journal Sentinel article for more details: Shaking up PabstCity plans - Developers now intend to demolish more of the old Pabst buildings than originally planned (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/feb05/301489.asp)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/feb05/pabst.one0214_big.jpg
^ Revised plans for PabstCity include demolishing the smokestack and lighter-colored building in the background, the building on the left, and the overhead walkway above W. Juneau Avenue. Developers intend to somehow preserve the Pabst sign, which could perhaps be relocated. The dark-colored building with the spire will be rehabilitated.

[Boatnurd]

Someone please point me to how you post pictures on this site. I have a number of great Milwaukee pics I want to share and am challenged to understand how to do that. I have been in a number of other sites similar to this but they have areas to download pictures to and then pull them up in the reply or forum. Urrrrr. I have contacted forum hosts to no avail.

[Tom In Chicago]

Someone please point me to how you post pictures on this site.

the FAQ is here (look for Adding Images):

http://www.skyscraperpage.com/forum/misc.php?action=bbcode

It assumes that you have your photos hosted on a public server. . . I use Pbase (www.pbase.com) they offer a 30 day trial, but 'hot-linking' is only availble to paid subscribers. . . here's the link to their pricing page - http://www.pbase.com/pricing.html

[CityGawd5]

I'd be pissed if they took down the walkway and Pabst sign, even if they did store the sign somewhere else. But what can you do? It'll be interesting to see how the city responds to the new proposal.


I do have one question though -- they're tearing down some buildings because they couldn't punch windows in them because it would alter the historic character. Sort of hilarious in a really fucked up way if you think of it. Apparently it's more important to keep the building from being altered than to save it from being completely demolished. Or am I reading that wrong? It just seems so absurd...

[Markitect]

I do have one question though -- they're tearing down some buildings because they couldn't punch windows in them because it would alter the historic character. Sort of hilarious in a really fucked up way if you think of it. Apparently it's more important to keep the building from being altered than to save it from being completely demolished. Or am I reading that wrong? It just seems so absurd...

I had read that in some article a few month back. Developers, in their quest for money, had approached some Federal agency about getting some historic tax credits (I forget which one, maybe the National Parks--I think they're responsible for historic preservation) to pay for some of the renovation work on the buildings, which has a large, blank, windowless brick exterior wall. Developers wanted to punch holes in the wall to make windows, to make the interior spaces behind the wall marketable for whatever they had planned for that building. But if they put windows in that wall, the building would not be eligible for those historic tax credits from the Feds because the building would have been significantly altered from its original state.

That was several months ago. So I can only guess that since their intended money source for that part of the project was denied, they could get money from anywhere else (or perhaps didn't try anything else for that particular part of the project?) and after further investigation of the building, they found all those other difficulties, so they decided to nix the whole thing from this latest proposal.

But yes, there is a good deal of irony in the whole situation.

The City's Historic Preservation Commission, the Common Council, and architectural activists could axe the plans for axing some of those buildings, though. But even still, a money source would be needed to help fund the renovation (with or without punching windows in that wall).

I guess we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.

[Markitect]

The Sydney Hih building (also known as the Nicholas Senn Block), a well-known Donwtown landmark built in 1876, may be sold to a developer who will convert the building into condominiums and retail space. The building, actually a collection of four connected buildings along W. Juneau Avenue, has been eyed as a hot property since the immediately adjacent elevated Park East Freeway was demolished recently.

The developer has hired Johnsen Schmaling Architects to take on the renovation tasks--which presents a challenge as the floors of each building do not line up with each other. Parking will also have to be acomondated, perhaps in a new mixed-use parking garage that could be built on former freeway land.

See this artcile from the Journal Sentinel for more: Eclectic landmark to be reborn - Developer to create condos out of Sydney Hih building (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/302078.asp)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/feb05/sydney021605.jpg
^ The Sydney Hih Building stands alone on a city block it once shared with the Park East Freeway. In the coming years, it will be reintegrated with the urban fabric as the freeway corridor is redeveloped.


***


One of the latest renovated warehouses in the Third Ward is the Marshall Building, at the corner of N. Water and E. Buffalo Streets. While it may look like an oridiany warehouse building built in 1907, it holds the distinct, and rather obscure, honor of being the world's oldest surviving example of a once revolutionary method of flat-slab concrete floor construction. In 2002, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared the building a national civic engineering landmark.

The Marshall Building, originally a produce warehouse, is now home to a home furnishing store at street-level, and professional offices above.

More can be found in the Journal Sentinel:Historic Marshall Building not just a pretty face - Third Ward site pioneered concrete construction techniques (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/302030.asp)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/feb05/marshall1021505.jpg
^ The exterior of the Marshall Building looks much like any other warehouse building constructed 100 years ago...

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/feb05/marshall2021505.jpg
^ ...The interior, however, reveals the revolutionary construction techniques used at the time it was built. Rather than columns supporting wood or steel beams upon which the floor was laid, the Marshall Building uses mushroom-topped concrete columns reinforced with steel reinforcing bars which were tied into the a flat concrete floor slab above. An advantage of the new construction technique was that it saved the time and money involved in installing beams under a floor.

[Crazy Ivan]

The Business Jouranal - Milwaukee
From the February 4, 2005 print edition

Twin towers could soar at U.S. Bank
Second skyscraper would include upscale condos
Pete Millard

Plans for a second, 42-story U.S. Bank high-rise building likely will include luxury condominiums on the upper floors, continuing the residential boom in downtown Milwaukee.
U.S. Bancorp officials are pursuing plans on a site that serves as a parking structure on East Michigan Street immediately south of the existing U.S. Bank tower, 777 E. Wisconsin Ave. The parking ramp is connected by a pedestrian bridge to the existing building.

Plans for the building are still preliminary, but were confirmed by Andy Randall, president of U.S. Bank Wisconsin. Several real estate sources said the bank is considering as many as 20 floors of condominiums for the top of the proposed twin tower. The mixed-use building also would include more than 250,000 square feet of office space, a hotel and retail space on the lower floors.

Randall said the bank was not yet in a position to announce a timeline for when the project might get under way. He declined to reveal any specifics of the project.
"The mixed-use aspect of the project is still evolving," Randall said.

The building would be the third downtown Milwaukee high-rise with luxury condominiums to start in the last two years. Construction is under way on the $85 million, 56-unit University Club Tower at Prospect Avenue and East Wells Street and the $52 million, 74-unit Kilbourn Tower at the corner of North Prospect and East Kilbourn avenues.

The prospect of a new downtown high-rise with luxury condominiums didn't faze developers of the 33-story Kilbourn Tower or 34-story University Club Tower, which are located less than half a mile from the U.S. Bank building.

"It is reassuring there are other developers in downtown Milwaukee who share our optimism that the market is moving in this direction," said Blair Williams, a vice president at Mandel Group.

Mandel, a Milwaukee development firm, is building University Club Tower, which is slated to be completed in spring of 2006. University Club Tower is being constructed next to Kilbourn Tower, which is on track to be completed in May 2005.

"This is further evidence showing how strong the condo market is in downtown Milwaukee," said Dick Glaisner, a managing partner of Fiduciary Real Estate Development Inc., Milwaukee, the firm building Kilbourn Tower.

Both University Club Tower and Kilbourn Tower presold more than 60 percent of their condominiums, some of which had asking prices of more than $1.5 million.
Since 2002, developers have planned or built 2,352 condos valued at $739.4 million in four downtown-area aldermanic districts.
Previous interest

A Milwaukee real estate broker said U.S. Bank purchased the office building in late 2000 because it was interested in the property as a potential development site. For the past 10 years, half a dozen developers have made proposals to build a second tower at the East Michigan Street parking ramp, said several real estate sources.

The 1.1 million-square-foot downtown office building, Milwaukee's oldest and largest high-rise complex, was constructed in 1971 by First Wisconsin National Bank. First Wisconsin sold the building in the mid-1990s to Trammell Crow Co., Dallas, which then sold it to a group that included Equitable Insurance Co., the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and the California Public Employees' Retirement System. The group sold the building to U.S. Bank in 2000 for $203 million.

U.S. Bank officials are withholding comment on plans for the East Michigan Street site while they await word from Quarles & Brady L.L.P. on its downtown office plans.
U.S. Bank is one of several property owners and developers in the running to build a downtown office tower that would accommodate the space demands of Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee's second-largest law firm.

Quarles leases 160,000 square feet at the 20-year-old 411 East Wisconsin Center, 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. The law firm is seeking proposals from five developers to build a new downtown office building.

[Markitect]

Development opportunities in the Park East corridor have picked up a little bit of steam, now that all the leagal issues have been ironed out, for now.

A few weeks ago, the City put out a request for proposals on a small parcel it owns at N. Water/N. Jefferson/E. Pleasant Streets. Interested developers have until the end of March to turn in their proposals for the site.

Meanwhile, the Mandel Group continues to work on plans for a long-proposed project at the old Pfister & Vogel tannery site, along the Milwaukee River at N. Water and E. Pleasant Streets. The tannery buildings will be demolished to make way for 500 condo and apartment units, as well as 25,000 suqare feet of retail space. Being a riverfront site, it will also include a new RiverWalk segments.

Big Bend Development has been demolishing the former Milwaukee Center for Independence at N. Milwaukee Street and E. Ogden Avenue to make room for a mixed-use retail/condo/rowhouse project on that site.

Negotioations are underway for the sale of the Sydney Hih building at N. 3rd Street and W. Juneau Avenue, which is proposed to be converted into retail space and condos.

And this week, Milwaukee County is putting out a request for proposals on a 2-acre County-owned parcel--an entire block bounded by E. Ogden Avenue, N. Milwaukee, N. Jefferson and E. Lyon Streets.

The County will continue environmental testing on parcels it owns in the corridor before they are put up for sale. Results of those tests will be a factor when determing the sale price for each parcel.

Developers have been closely eyeing parcels and awaiting certain legal and political decisions (first at the City level, then at the County level) that have delayed development action up until recently. County officials anticipate the remainder of County-owned land east of the river to be up for sale by mid-2005, and the lots west of the river by March 2006.

Another development possibility still under occassional discussion is relocating Potawatomi Bingo Casino from its current site in the Menomonee Valley to a new facility inthe Park East corridor, just north of the Bradley Center. However, such a move is an extreme longshot because it depends on all sorts of approvals at all levels of government, plus the yet-unresolved gaming compact issue with the State, plus the Tribe already has plans underway for a casino/hotel expansion on the current site in the Valley.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/feb05/PARKEAST20Gbig.gif
^ This map summarizes what is in store for the Park East corridor.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/feb05/parkeast2022005.jpg
^ An aerial view of the Park East corridor gives a sense of how much land was freed up when the freeway was demolished. In addition to land once occupied by the freeway, the redevelopment area includes adjacent blocks that have been underutilized for decades.

See this Journal Sentinel article for more on the topic: Small steps adding up for Park East - Milwaukee County to begin seeking development proposals for first 2-acre parcel Monday (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/303277.asp)


***


In an effort to hel balance the 2005-2007 budget, Governor Doyle has proposed selling the Milwaukee State Office Building, a 10-story building at N. 6th and W. Wells Streets. Officials claim the building is too expensive for the State to maintain. The building, which holds about 100,000 square feet of office space in a prime Downtown location in Milwaukee's Civic Center, could sell for $5-8 million.

If the building is sold, the State would likely construct a new office building elsewhere in Downtown, probably in the Park East corridor. Another option being discussed is possibly joint-leasing space with Milwaukee County somewhere in the PabstCity development. In recent months, the County has been considering selling/demolishing its office building at N. 6th and W. State Streets (just up the block, and across the street from the State's current building) and moving those offices into the PabstCity development but no decisions have been made on those fronts yet. And yet another possibility if for the State to sell its building and then lease it back from the new owner.

The Governor's budget proposal, and thus the future of the State office building in Milwaukee, are under review by the Senate and Assembly up through this spring.

More info in the Business Journal: Doyle: Sell state office building - Prime downtown site could go private (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/02/21/story1.html?page=1)

[Markitect]

Last week, the county executives of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha Counties met with the mayors of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha, as well as officials from the Southeastern Wiscosnin Regional Planning Commission to sign an agreement to work together on the proposed Metra commuter train extension. Currently Metra trains from Chicago terminate in Kenosha--the extension would brigh trains through Racine to Milwaukee, and serve several suburbs in between.

The next step is to figure out how to pay for the extension, which is conservatively estimated to cost $152 million.

More details in the Journal Sentinel article: Metra agreement signed - Area mayors, county executives to work on extending service (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/305009.asp)

***

The veterans group proposing to berth a former Navy heavy cruiser ship at the lakefront in Vetrean's Park have decided to retreat--at least from that location. Their proposal to dock the USS Des Moines on the Downtown lakefront as a memorial and tourist attraction was met with fierce opposition from people who did not want to see Milwaukee's lakefront cluttered up with such a project--citing concerns of blocking lake views, impropoer use of parkland, environemntal contamination, disruption of lakewater ecosystems, and questionable financial plans.

Realizing the Veteran's Park site was sunk, Des Moines backers are now looking for other sites in the near-Downtown area to dock the ship. County Executive Walker--who backed the project, but not the location--has suggested a site at the mouth of the Milwaukee River, just west of the Hoan Bridge and the Summerfest groudns/Marcus Amphiatheater. However, docking the ship at that location could hamper commerical navigation for ships entering and exiting the Inner Harbor, and would need to pass approval from the US Coat Guard.

The veterans group recently looked into a site further south, near the Lake Express ferry dock in the Bay View neighborhood, but was met with some opposition there as well. But they are hopeful they can raise the $18 million needed to refurbish the ship and bring it to ana acceptable site somewhere along or near the lakefront in Milwaukee.

See this Journal Sentinel article for the full story: Veterans sink plan - Leaders of USS Des Moines project abandon push for lakefront spot downtown, but other sites consider (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/305726.asp)

[Tom In Chicago]

I like the idea of a Metra link from Kenosha to Racine and Milwaukee, but I think it will be a cold day in hell if this day ever comes. . .

[MSPtoMKE]

^Why do you say that? I think it is reasonably likely, eventually at least.

[Markitect]

Herein lies the difficulty:

Regional leaders have said they want the state Department of Transportation to run and finance the train line, while state officials have said local authorities should be responsible.

When the preliminary study was released a couple years ago, planners said the extension ought to be up and running by 2010 or so--assuming financing is secured, engineering studies are completed (that is the next step in this whole process), and the necessary construction work is finished. I don't know if that timeline is still on track.

[MSPtoMKE]

Ok i can see the Department of Transportation financing the line (or local authorities...), but running it? Wouldn't that be contracted out to METRA?

And c'mon, here's a novel idea, how about they compromise and use both state and local funding...

[Tom In Chicago]

They've been talking about this for decades. . . it's never going to happen. . . trust me. . .

[Markitect]

Weas Development and HGA Architects continue to work on designs for rehbilitating the Kenilworth Building, actually a pair of former industrial buildings (the 1914 built for Ford Motor Company, designed by Albert Kahn; and a 1943 addition for a torpedo factory). The University of Wiscsonsin--Milwaukee has owned the building for a few decades, and has used it mostly for storage and a few art studios. The University and the City have approved plans to convert the complex into an attractive mixed-use rehabilitation project.

The complex will be split apart into two separate buildings. The section along N. Farwell Avenue will become 179 units for adult student housing, with a two-story addition onto the roof; the section along N. Prospect Avenue will have retail space, classroom/ofice/studio space for UWM's art school, plus a 7-story addition on the south side of the building for 25-30 condominums (overlooking the bike trail). A landscaped walkway and courtyard through the middle of the site will connect to the trail, and will have glassy skywalks overhead linking the two buildings together. Much of the existing buildings will remain, they'll just be cleaned up and upgraded.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/mar05/kenilworth030605.jpg
^ A rendering of the rehabitlitated Kenilworth Building along N. Prospect Avenue. The original 1914 building (ex-Ford auto plant) is in the background (retail and art school space); the new 7-story addition (two floors of parking, 5 floors of condos) is shown in the foreground. The Oak Leaf Bike Trail passes below street level on the left.

Check out the Journal Sentinel article to read more. Plus, don't forget to click on the "More Photos" link in the sidebar to see a slideshow of additional renderings: Plan honors buildings' factory roots but adds industrial chic (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/mar05/307355.asp)

[CityGawd5]

VERY nice. I've been waiting to see renderings of that for a long time now.

[Markitect]

A surface parking lot in the Third Ward may become home for a mixed-use retail, office, condo, parking garage project. The Gardner Group, which owns a lot on the 300-block of N. Broadway is reviewing proposals from three different local developmetn firms. It plans to sell the lot to the firm with the best proposal. Furthermore, the Hisoric Third Ward Association owns a one-story warehouse at the corner of N. Broadway and E. St. Paul Avenue which could be merged into the Gardner Property. The site is kitty-corner to the Milwaukee Public Market, set to open this June.

Although current regulations would allow a 13-story building on the site, critics point out other nearby buildings are in the 3-6-story range, and fell a shorter 6-story building would be more appropriate for the setting.

Fiond out more in the Business Journal: More development for 3rd Ward - Project on St. Paul would include retail, residential, parking (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/07/story2.html?page=1)


***


A couple other smaller proposals and projects...

General Capital Group has a scaled-back proposal for a 13-unit townhouse development for 26 homes called Story Hill Townhomes on the site of a former greenhouse along W. Blue Mound Road. Residents of the Story Hill neighborhood had concerns about the earlier proposal, which had 17-units with 34 homes.

The Stadium Business Park, a small distribution and warehouse facility just south of Miller Park, will gain another new building in the form of a 50,000 square foot warehouse. The business park is being built on a former industrial site, and has seen a lot of interest from new industrial firms.

From the Business Journal: General Capital revises Story Hill condo project / Inland plans new building near Miller Park (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/07/newscolumn2.html?page=1)


***


An article discussing the construction of Kilbourn Tower and University Club Tower in relation to rising prices of building materials also happens to mention the progress on those two high-rise luxury condo towers. According to the artcile...

Kilbourn Tower

- 34 stories (including mechanical penthouse??...or maybe a typo--thought it was 33 stories)
- 48 of 74 units sold
- Price range = $700,000 to $2-plus million
- Opens this spring


University Club Tower

- 34 stories now, excluding mehcanical penthouse; may add a 35th floor (desicion to come in a couple of months)
- 37 of 56 units sold
- Price range = $1.1 million to $1.7 million
- Opens May 2006

From the Business Journal: Condo towers rise and so do building material prices - Builders hope costs will stabilize in 2005 (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/07/focus2.html?page=1)


***


The Business Journal reviews and describes the Milwaukee School of Engineering's new athletic facility, the Kern Center, opened in October 2004: http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/07/focus3.html]MSOE's Kern Center 'raises the bar' for area's architecture


***

The small firm of LaDallman Architects, run by wife-and-husband Grace La and James Dallman, is profiled in the Business Journal. Although their firm is very small, but has been very busy and quite successful in a relatively short period of time. The firm provided the original design for Kilbourn Tower, as well as other smaller, yet notable projects and proposals in the city. Grace also teaches at UWM's School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Read about the firm in the Business Journal: Architectural couple agree on dividing duties, pursuing public projects (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/07/focus4.html)

[Markitect]

VERY nice. I've been waiting to see renderings of that for a long time now.

Yes indeed; an excellent blend of old and new, where the "new" is something of its own time and does not mimic the "old."

HGA does some stellar work around here. I am very interested to see what they and Pentagram have in store for the Harley Museum.

[MSPtoMKE]

Awesome. I have been waiting for renderings too, aside from that little one that popped up a little while ago that showed the pedestrian connection between the buildings, but didnt show much.

[Markitect]

Wispark--one of the development firms working on PabstCity--now has a website put together for the project featuring the most recent proposal. Along with descriptive information and links to recent articles/editorials, the site has a couple site plans (in PDF format) available for viewing.

Wispark - PabstCity (http://www.wispark.com/pabstcity/index.htm)

[CGII]

I visited the Center for Independence a few weeks ago to get some pictures before it was completely razed. Anyone know if it's gone yet?

[Markitect]

I visited the Center for Independence a few weeks ago to get some pictures before it was completely razed. Anyone know if it's gone yet?

I think most of it is gone now. A mixed-use project is proposed for that site, some low-rise stuff and brownstone-sype units, but so far no drawings have been released showing what it will look like.

[Markitect]

The surface parking lot at W. Wisconsin Avenue and N. 4th Street--a prime development site directly across the street from the convention center--will reamin a surface parking lot a while longer. Developers have dropped plans for a 225-room Sheraton hotel on the site; they did not disclose the reason for doing so. Although some environmental contamination was discovered in October 2004, City officials say it was not anything unusual that would prevent development. The City, which subsidized the project by selling the lot to developers for one dollar, will take back the land (part of the deal if the development didn't materialize) and put it back on the market.

Critics of the hotel plan claim the proposal was too small, and that the City should try to attract a larger hotel. Unfortunately, previous larger hotel proposals on the same site have had difficulty acquiring financing. Furthermore, plans have stalled for another small hotel proposed for an empty lot at W. Juneau Avenue and N. Old World Third Street. Investors for that hotel recently listed the site for sale. Meanwhile, convention business at the Midwest Airlines Center has dwindled since opening in 1998, in part sue to a lack of adequate hotel space in the city.

A link to the Journal Sentinel article: Developer drops plans for new Sheraton - Site contamination had delayed construction (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/mar05/307863.asp)

And another link to the Business Journal article: Downtown Sheraton plans dropped (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/07/daily17.html)


***


The Department of City Development will soon prepare a redevelopment plan for the underultilized Tower Automotive industrial complex--bounded by W. Capitol Drive and W. Townsend, N. 35th and N. Hopkins Streets; in the heart of the city. DCD would like to attract a variety of uses which would include neighborhood-oriented retail/restrauants, housing, offices, and light and heavy manufacturing.

Already, the Deparment of Public Works, Pressed Steel Tank, and West Milwaukee Recycling have plans in motion to move into the site, bringing with them 520 jobs.

The site was once home to nearly 10,000 employees, working for A.O. Smith producing automotive parts (mostly frames), among other things. As production dwindled, so did the work force, and the factory was sold to Tower Automotive in the late-1990s. Now less than 500 people are employed there, soon to be as few as 100 when Tower shifts production of frames for Dodge trucks to Mexico later this year. Tower also filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy protection just last month.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/mar05/tower030905.jpg
^ This aerial view overlooks a good chunk of the 140-acre Tower Automotive complex--much of which is no longer used.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/mar05/tower2030905.jpg
^ The former A.O. Smith Research Building is a handsome example of art deco industrial/corporate architeture built in 1930. It will be preserved as part of the redevelopment plan.

Here's a link to the full story in the Journal Sentinel: City to create Tower plan - Officials stressing job creation at site (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/mar05/307865.asp)

[CGII]

I think that that project is bound to fail. The Tower site is simply HUGE-just go down Capitol Dr. or look at the satelitte view. I'd be amazed if this project got much further. If we can't convince anybody to redo the Pabst in a potentially great high rent district, I don't know how we can fill up the old Tower Auto in a low rent neighborhood. It'd be great to have, I just doubt it will happen.

[Markitect]

I think that that project is bound to fail. The Tower site is simply HUGE-just go down Capitol Dr. or look at the satelitte view. I'd be amazed if this project got much further. If we can't convince anybody to redo the Pabst in a potentially great high rent district, I don't know how we can fill up the old Tower Auto in a low rent neighborhood. It'd be great to have, I just doubt it will happen.

You cannot really compare the Tower redevelopment with the Pabst redevelopment, since they are two entirely different projects with completely different scopes.

PabstCity is a downtown mixed-use district in which the primary anchors will be entertainment/hospitality uses (cineplex, nighclubs, restaurants). The rest will be retail (some neighborhood-oriented, some probably destination-type retail), office space, and residential. Because of it's downtown location, it will lean more towards high-end stuff, and it is intended to be a regional draw. On top of that, a good portion of it will still be a historic rehab project.

Tower Automotive, on the other hand, is being set up to be a central city neighborhood mixed-use district. The primary focus seems to be industrial/office uses, with neighborhood-oriented retail and some housing. It is not intended to be a high-end area, but it isn't going to be low-end either. It is not intended to be a regional draw. Furthermore, this is not going to be as big of a historic rehab project as Pabst is. Most of the Tower buildings will probably be demolished to make room for new development; only a small handfull of buildings will be saved.

[CityGawd5]

Turn it into a Lifestyle Mall.

[Markitect]

Despite receiving four requests for proposals on a new downtown office building in which it would be an anchor tenant, the law firm of Quarles & Brady has decided not to pursue any of those options. Instead, the firm will renew its lease in its current quarters in the 411 Building, which is in the process of being sold to new owners. The soon-to-be-new-owners of the building, Triple Net Properties, offered Quarles & Brady an attractive lease renewal proposal to keep the firm from moving out.

From the Business Journal: Quarles agrees to renew lease at 411 Building (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/07/daily30.html)

And the Journal Sentinel: Quarles & Brady to stay in its location - Firm won't leave 411 East Wisconsin Center (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/mar05/308143.asp)

[Markitect]

Work continues at the Ambassador Hotel to bring the building back to its former state of glory. The 8-story art deco hotel, built in 1928, was once a ritzy place to stay, but the place eventually fell on hard times like the rest of the neighborhood at W. Wisconsin Avenue and N. 23rd Street. But today, the neighborhood is improving, and the Ambassador will soon become a luxurious landmark once again.

Owner Rick Wiegand hopes to turn the Ambassador into a place that would rival the Hotel Metro and the Pfister. Architectural details have been uncovered and restored, wiring ripped out and redone, walls stripped to the studs and rebuilt, rooms enlarged, whirlpools installed--quite literally a remodelling from the top down. The hotel's restaurant will be reopened, as will the cocktail lounge, coffee shop ,lobby, and other amenities and services. And the building's iconic landmark billboard rooftop sign is statying put.

Read about it in the Journal Sentinel article: A hotel that's seen better days may soon see them again (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/mar05/308505.asp)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/apr02/ambig040602.jpg
^ A view of the Ambassador Hotel from 2002, as exterior restoration work was in progress.

[Markitect]

Ground was broken today for the CityGreen Condominiums, the latest residnetial project from New Land Enterprises. The site is located mid-block along N. Cass and Marshall Streets between E. State Street and E. Juneau Avenue in the East Town neighbohrood.

The project includes three buildings: a 10-story condo building (44 units, to be completed Fall 2006) with ground-floor retail space, a 9-story apartment building, and a 7-story apartment building (both totaling 98 units, to begin construction during/after Fall 2006). It will also include a shared public/private parking garage, as well as a public courtyard between the buildings.

http://www.citygreencondos.com/img/home_img.jpg
http://www.dailyreporter.com/newspics/northmarshall.jpg
^ "Nighttime" views of the architect's model for the CityGreen development.

More details in this article from the Daily Reporter, with a slightly misleading headline: Another downtown condo planned - Housing market’s still strong, developer says (http://www.dailyreporter.com/news/2_709/construction/20036514-1.html)

[CGII]

Not bad, not bad.

I've got to say...I'm ashamed at the design of the Teweles. The original building had so much potential...seeing it the other day covered in cheap looking industrial style metal with small windows made me pretty upset.

[Markitect]

Some of the developers who responded to Quarles & Brady's request for proposals will continue to push their plans, even though the law firm has decided not to seek out a new building. Since Quarles & Brady backed out, those developers say they remain unaffected by the decision, and are searching for other possible anchor tenants who could turn their proposals into realities.

Plans for a sister tower to the US Bank Center are still very very preliminary. US Bank officials note that the proposed tower was not reliant on Quarles & Brady being its anchor tenant, although they could have helped jump start the process. The 42-story sister tower is proposed for a site just south of the existing tower, and could include 20-plus floors of condominiums and 250,000 square feet of office space.

Developers Richard Levine and Gary Janko's proposal was for a 17-story building on the 300 block of E. Wisconsin Avenue. It would contain 250,000 square feet of office, 20,000 square feet of retail, and 500 parking spaces. Another possibility would be an extended-stay hotel, which Levine and Janko are considering.

Incidentally, the Levine/Janko site is the same one on which a 24-story office tower was proposed by Siegel-Gallagher back in 2003--the unnamed "Wisconsin and Broadway" tower. So that proposal is dead. And difficulty could still be ahead for the Levine/Janko proposal too, since the site sits within a historic district which contains some post-Civil War-era commerical buildings--run down, but definitely with some fixer-upper potential.

The Milwaukee Athletic Club is reviewing proposals for an office/retail/condo building on the site of its parking structure off Broadway. The club is looking over plans from six developers, and hopes to make an annoncement in the next few months.

And still others are on the hunt for tenants or drawing up proposals. Irgens is still seeking tenants for Ovation Plaza, a mixed-use building on the site now occupied by the Marcus Center's parking garage on N. Water Street. The NAI MLG Commercial firm is working on plans for a new office quarters near the riverfront in the Park East corridor. Williams Development is looking into a project on the site of the Bank One parking garage at N. Water and E. Michigan Streets.

From the Business Journal: Developers keep faith in high-rise offices after Quarles decision (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/21/story3.html?page=1)

[Dan in Chicago]

Kilbourn Tower

- 34 stories (including mechanical penthouse??...or maybe a typo--thought it was 33 stories)

You're right, it is 33 stories, not counting the mechanical penthouse. The highest residential floor is 34, but there's no 13th. I just saw the blueprints yesterday to confirm the exact height for Emporis.com, which it turns out we had all along, but I revised the floor count which we had listed as 34.

[CGII]

If you count the Chrysler Building as 77 stories, which includes the mechanical levels and 6 unusable floors in the spire, I don't see how Kilbourn can't be considered 34.

[Dan in Chicago]

Maybe the Chrysler count's wrong, then; I can't speak about it because I haven't seen the blueprints or a usage diagram. But according to convention mechanical penthouses don't count unless they're full-width mechanical floors.

[CGII]

They're not mechanical penthouses-just unfished space...some of it is too small to use.

[Markitect]

Another downtown law firm is looking for a possible new home; this time it's Godfrey & Kahn, which currently leases space in the M&I Building. As expected, most of the developers who have responded to the request had also been involved with the previous Quarles & Brady request earlier this year, which subsequently fell through:

- Irgens Development is pushing for their long-proposed Ovation Plaza on the 1000-block of N. Water Street
- The Milwaukee Athletic Club and its developer are pushing to redevelop the Club's parking structure at 758 N. Broadway
- Janko & Levine are pushing for a new 17-story building to be built at E. Wisconsin Avenue and N. Broadway
- Developer Joel Lee is puching a surface parking lot across from the Pfister Hotel
- NAI MLG Commercial is pushing for a new building in the Park East corridor
- Williams Development is pushing for redeveloping the Bank One parking structure at N. Water and E. Michigan Streets
- US Bancorp is pushing for a second tower for the US Bank Center

Landing Godfrey & Kahn as a major tenant for any one of those proposals would be a big step in seeing at least one of them closer to getting built.

Also, owners of the Milwaukee Center have approached the firm, as there is space available there. And the law firm could still chose to renew its lease in the M&I Building.

Godfrey & Kahn hopes to make a decision within the next two months.

Read about it in this article from the Business Journal: Law firm seeks new office space - Godfrey & Kahn requests proposals for downtown office building (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/28/story1.html?page=1)


***


Mark Attanasio, new owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, is considering redeveloping portions of the Miller Park parking lots in hopes of attracting more fans, generating more revenue, and more off-season activity in the stadium area--a suggestion which was made last year by the State Legislative Audit Bureau.

Attanasio envisions a mix of restaurants/bars, retail stores, and a hotel somewhere on the stadium grounds (and yes, there would most certainly be enough space for tailgating as well). Some of the possible new development would likely complement new yet-to-be-proposed projects to be built in the planned industrial/business park at the western end of the Menomonee Valley, which will be adjacent to the stadium's eastern parking lots.

More in the Business Journal article:
New attraction: Miller Park grounds - Attanasio seeks mix of activities to draw more fans (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/28/story3.html)


***


The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will have 16 acres of surplus land, ripe for development, when the downtown Marquette Interchange reconstruction project wraps up in 2008-09. WisDOT plans to sell that land either to private developers or the City of Milwaukee. Proceeds from the land sale will be put into the state highway fund:

- One acre at at the northwest corner of W. St Paul Avenue and N. 5th Street - the former Allied Glove building, a run-down, low-rise brick industrial structure, whcih partially stands in the way of a new freeway ramp will be demolished in April. Factory operations relocated elsewhere in the city two years ago. The site is kitty-corner to the Amtrak station (which WisDOT plans to renovate--one of these days), would make an indeal site for a mixed-use parking structure.

- Four acres at the northwest corner of N. James Lovell Drive (7th Street) and W. Clybourn Street - now occupied by a looping freeway ramp and a surface parking lot, which will be removed and replaced elsewhere by a ramp of a different design. An unnamed grocery store chain has been considering the site for a store.

- Eleven acres at W. Mount Vernon Avenue and N. 12th Street, southwest of the Interhcange - now occupied by some industrial buildings and a junkyard. WisDOT is currently negotiating with the owner to purchase the property, who has been in ongoing disputes with the City over back taxes and occupancy permits.

From the Business Journal: Marquette interchange land to be sold for development (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/28/story6.html)

And a link to the Marquette Interchange project website: http://www.mchange.org


***


The Redevelopment Authority is planning to acquire a vacant Sentry Foods store and McDonald's near the southwest corner of W. Walnut and N. 20th Streets. The City has deemed those properties as a blight in a neighborhood that is slowly experincing reinvestment, with nearby revitalization projects such as CityHomes, Garfield Place, and the Lindsay Heights residential developments.


Also, the City has approved a proposal for a small mixed-use development in the 1200-block of W. Highland Boulevard--near Aurora Sinai Medical Center and just across the freeway from PabstCity. The three-story building would contain a convenience store and gas station on the first floor, with two floors of offices above (something not really seen at all here).

From the Business Journal's "Real Estate Roundup": City working to acquire Walnut Street property for redevelopment / Mixed-use project proposed near PabstCity (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/03/28/newscolumn2.html?page=1)

[CityGawd5]

Crazy amount of new news. Thanks for the report.

[theodore]

Excellent news all around.

In particular, Mark Attanasio continues to do nothing but impress me. He just gets it. I can see a time years from now -- with this new redevelopment, better team on the field -- where Miller Park sells out nightly.

[Markitect]

Manpower Inc., an international staffing company based in suburban Glendale, is looking for 250,000 square feet of office space to house 2100 local employees. The firm is looking at existing buildings as well as possible new construction in Milwaukee, West Allis, Brookfield, Franklin, and Glendale.

According to one of US Bancorp's vice presidents, Manpower has looked into the possibility of being an anchor tenant in the proposed US Bank sister tower. However, the cheaper rents that can be found in suburban areas ($20/sq ft downtown versus $15 or less/sq ft in the suburbs) could be a factor that prevents a downtown relocation. Likewise, the parking issue, as usual, seems to be another hurdle that must be overcome. City of Milwaukee officials have yet to talk with Manpower about any relocation options and incentives.

It should also be noted that Manpower has no definite plans to move out of Glendale; but the firm is just exploring the possibilities. As expected, the City of Glendale is taking an active role in retaining Manpower--possibly helping to expand the firms current headquarters or relocating to elsewhere in the city.

More can be found in the Business Journal article: Powerhouse tenant hits market - Manpower seeks space for 2,100 employees (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/04/04/story1.html?page=1)


***


The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's architecture and urban design critic, Whitney Gould, gives her thoughts on the latest redevelopment plans for PabstCity, which call for demlishing more buildings than originally anticipated. In the beginning, 21 of the 29 buildings that make up the former brewery complex were to be saved; the more recent plans only save 8 buildings. Developers say they cannot afford to rehabilitate as many as they originally thought due to extreme deteriroation in some buildings, and others would be difficult to rehab from a functional standpoint.

Gould suggests that PabstCity developers make an attempt to save at least a few more of the notable buildings, especially given the amount of public subsidy that is anticipated for the project. She also proposes that other developers could/should be allowed to take a crack at rehabilitating some of the more challenging buildings. And finally, she points out the potential of the new buildings that will be built as part of the project, and that the histroci preservation commission's special design guidelines (the brewery is a historic district) that are supposed to be applied to any new construction be rewritten to ecnourage bold, new designs and not "Disneyish theme park stuff - Ye Olde Pabstville" that mimic old architecture.

Read it in the Journal Sentinel: Worthy of the blue ribbon? - PabstCity plan is good, could be better (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/apr05/315211.asp)
NOTE: Be sure to click on the More Photos (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/mar05/display331.asp) link in the sidebar to see a brief tour of the Pabst brewery in its current state!

[Markitect]

The Historic Preservation Commission heard comments yesterday from developers, politicians, and citizens regarding the proposed demolition work for PabstCity. The developers plan to demolish a total of 14 buildings in the brewery comlpex, citing that costs would be too high to rehabilitate them. Preservationists claim that at least some of the buildings slated for demolition should be spared, due to their historic integrity and architectural value. In the end, the HPC made a recommendation to the Common Council that 6 of those 14 buildings be spared from the wrecking ball (the ones that are most significant).

Alderman Bauman, who sits on the HPC, thinks it is unlikely the Common Council will support the HPC's recommendation to save the 6 buildings, so as not to delay the project any longer, but may be more open to keeping 2 of them--the old malt house and a former church that was converted into a tasting room and training center for the brewery. The Common Council has the final say in the matter.

From the Journal Sentinel: Historical panel wants Pabst buildings preserved (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/apr05/316316.asp)

[Markitect]

The first phase of the Columbia-St. Mary's Hospital expansion and redevelopment will include a new mixed-use project called Pospect Medical Commons, at the northwest corner of N. Prospect and E. North Avenues. Ground floor commercial space will be leased to Whole Foods--the country's largest organic and natural foods retailer, making its first foray in the Milwaukee area. The remaining three stories will contain medical office space for about 70 doctors. A parking structure will also be included, which will be shared between the supermarket customers and hospital patients/staff; it will also be available during nighttime hours for patrons visiting other neighbohrood restaurants, bars, and businesses.

The site was once occupied by a Heiser Ford dealership, which was razed a couple years ago in anticipation of the hospital project. Construction will begin this June; Whole Foods is expected to open November 2006, with the medical offices to open in January 2007.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/apr05/wholefoods_rendering_041105_big.jpg
^ This rendering shows Prospect Medical Commons. The North Avenue frontage is on the left side. The Prospect Avenue frontage is on the right side.

More details in the Journal Sentinel: Whole Foods coming to east side - Natural food seller is nation's biggest (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/apr05/317234.asp)

[Markitect]

The Department of City Development has unveiled a comprehensive neighborhood plan for the Third Ward that will help shape future development in the area. The plan focuses a good deal on infill development, which will undoubtedly pick up steam as developers run out of turn-of-the-century industrial/warehouse buildings to convernt into new uses. Most of the land in the eastern portion of the neighborhood are surface parking lots and rather ugly, utilitarian, new-ish industrial buildings.

The goal of the plan isn't to force out those industries, but rather to prepare a vision for what the area could become if the land on which those factories sit becomes available for redevelopment. The biggest challenge for the City would be how and where to retain any outgoing industrial firms (one Third Ward firm recently announced it will be relocating to suburban Franklin). The City hopes to convince any possible outgoing factories to relocate to places like the Menomonee Valley or the Tower Automotive site. Another challenge, as always, is the parking issue; which is a concern because of the nearby festival grounds. Parking structures are envisioned for the area.

The plan also calls for improving the block and street grid along the eastern edge of the neighborhood. This would include:

- A new boulevard and park area along E. Polk Street to connect the riverfront with the lakefront festival grounds
- A new alignment and landscaping for N. Harbor Drive, to dress up the western edge of the festival grounds and provide a buffer for new development
- And creating new blocks for development by slicing streets through the existing surface parking lots south of the Italian Community Center

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/apr05/lofts041205.jpg
^ The Mandel Group is converting this former industrial building on Erie Street into the Marine Terminal Lofts.

Check out the article from the Journal Sentinel: Broader vision for Third Ward - More development planned east of N. Jefferson St. (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/apr05/317893.asp)


***


The City's Common Council is considering the possibility of buying County-owned land in the Park East corridor in an effort to speed up and streamline the redevelopment process. Milwaukee County currently owns 16 acres on whcih the freeway once stood.

As things are now, all development proposals on County-owned land would have to seek approval from the County and the City anyway, so it only makes sense to eliminate one level of government approval in the process; and the City has more experience in urban redevelopment than does the County. Alderman D'Amato is pushing for the City to purchase the land, and County Executive Walker is open to the idea of selling.

More in the Journal Sentinel article: City considers buying county's Park East land - Sale could ease redevelopment of property in downtown Milwaukee, advocates say (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/apr05/317468.asp)

[CityGawd5]

Reading about the demolition of the Statler in Detroit has made me realize recently that we're pretty lucky here...developers seem to have respect for our history...relatively speaking, of course. A building like the one pictured in Markitect's post would probably be demolished in a lot of cities. But here, we convert it to condos. That's awesome. I'm a little tipsy, so I apologize if I sound sentimental here. But I'm really proud of Milwaukee for preserving such a large portion of our architectural heritage. Go us.

[Markitect]

The University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee has asked the State Building Commission to borrow $112 million for the possible purchase and renovation of Columbia Hospital. The hospital is located right across the street from UWM's campus, and will close in 2009-2010 as part of a hospital consoldation project with St. Mary's Hospital. Space-cramped UWM has been eyeing the Columbia complex as a logical way to expand the university campus for more classrooms, offices, dorms, and parking--but the final decision will be made as part of the ongoing campus master planning process. However, the borrowing request shows State officials that UWM is serious about the consideration. The funding and expansion requests would have to pass approval from the State Building Commission as well as the State Legislature.

More in the Business Journal: UWM wants cash for Columbia - Bonding $112 million would enable hospital deal (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/04/25/story1.html)


***


The Business Journal also has a related article about the Columbia-St. Mary's Hospital consoldation. It recaps the progress so far, including the announcement of the Prospect Medical Commons from a few weeks ago, as well as some of the cut-backs that have been made over the past couple of years concerning neighborhod compatability issues and the switch from a complete demolition and rebuild to the current a partial demolition and rebuild that will save the older historic hospital buildings. Full details are to be revealed later this year.

Columbia finally moving ahead with consolidation plans - Hospital system to unveil 'smaller' plans to merge Columbia, St. Mary's this fall (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/04/25/focus4.html)


***


The National Liquor Bar, long a South Side icon, will be demolished this fall to make way for a new Walgreen's and other retailers. The bar's owner has decided not to relocate. All of the buildings along W. National Avenue between S. 26th and S. Layton Boulevard will be razed for the project, however, five businesses in that stretch will relocate elsewhere.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/mar03/goulbig032303.jpg
^ This local landmark will be knocked down for a Walgreen's.

The Walgreen's project is the first of what commnity leaders hope will be a series of redevelopments along that part of National Avenue. It is part of the new "Main Street Milwaukee" initiative--a program which will provide technical and financial assistance designated older, traditional neighborhood commercial districts in the city.

The Department of City Development found the original Walgreen's proposal unsatifactoy, and encouraged the developers to rework the site design, building design, and parking lot. The revised plans call for a 15,000 sq ft Walgreen's store at the corner of National and 26th. Developers also agreed to build a 1000 sq ft retail building at the corner of National and Layton (27th); original plans had parking at that busy intersection.

Read about it in the Business Journal: National Liquor barred -Landmark to fall for Walgreens (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/04/25/story2.html)


***

Milwaukee County officials invited 250 developers a request for proposals for a 2-acre site in the Park East corridor. They only received two proposals.

The County's decision to impose a community benefits agreement on land it owns in the Park East corridor may be the reason for the less-than-enthusiastic response. The benefits agreement requires developers to provide both construction jobs at union-level wages and affordable housing--a restriction certain politicians and real estate experts claimed could detract developers from proposing projects on County-owned land because of the added costs incurred.

Boulder Venture proposed a mixed-use building with ground floor retail and four floors of condos/apartments. RSC & Associates also submitted a proposal for the County land.

At the same time, the City of Milwaukee received 6 proposals for a less-than-one-acre parcel it owns in the corridor, land which is not subject to a benefits agreement. Lat year, the City rejected a policy for a benefits agreement for City-owned property in the corridor.

The County and City are in the process of reviewing their respective proposals, and will make their decisions in the coming months.

From the Business Journal: Controversy limits interest in Park East (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/04/25/story3.html)


***

The Scion Group, a Chicago-based developer, would like to build more student housing for Milwaukee's colleges--particularly at off-campus locations in or near downtown that could be used by students from all area colleges. With that in mind, the firm currently has bids on buildings in the Third Ward and West Town neighborhoods.

The firm is currently converting the Bockl Building, a former medical office building on W. Wisconsin Avenue, into student housing units for nearby Marquette University.


Also, the City is seeking a request for proposals for an empty industrial building in the Riverworks Business Improvement District on W. Capitol Drive. The City would like to sell to a developer who will open a commercial or service business on the site.

From the Business Journal: Real Estate Roundup (http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/04/25/newscolumn2.html?page=1)

[CGII]

Shame. I was really hoping the NLB would stay, or at least have Walgreens take over the existing building. :( It's kind of funny how an initiative designed to help with upkeep and financial order of older buildings should be tearing down one of the more known landmarks.

Also, it's pretty sad the Sidny Hih started on fire. I saw it on the news last night-huge blaze. At the end of the broadcast last night they said they were suspecting it of arson. I just cross my fingers that the developers who were to convert it to 15 condo units won't abandon it and raze it. :(

[MSPtoMKE]

Oh, good, a Walgreens! That's too bad.

I hadn't heard about the Sydney Hih fire, and i did a quick search that didn't show anything. How bad was it? It would be a shame to lose the last remaining sliver of history on that block.

Oh, and Ald. Mike D'Amato is against UWM taking over Columbia Hospital? Surprise, surprise.

[CityGawd5]

MIKE D'AMATO RULES!!!!! Dude, I am TOTALLY into the self-loathing scene.

His campaign slogan should have been "FOR D'Amato. AGAINST!"

Seriously, can we burn HIM down, too?

[Markitect]

Shame. I was really hoping the NLB would stay, or at least have Walgreens take over the existing building. :( It's kind of funny how an initiative designed to help with upkeep and financial order of older buildings should be tearing down one of the more known landmarks.

I doubt the National Liquor Bar building is big enough for Walgreens' needs, so taking over the existing building would not be practical for them.

As far as the existing building is concerned (it is 100 years old), it does have a nice neighborhood charm, and could have used a bit of tender loving care to clean it up some more. Of course, it is a fantastic example of classic street-level retail with residential or offices above. It's too bad Walgreen's is not locating elsewhere in the neighborhood.

As for the existing bar and liquor store business, the activity that goes on there, and some of the patrons there...it is quite seedy; moreso than the usual neighborhood bar/liquor store. So the elimination of that kind of blight within the neighborhood might just be a good thing.

Oh, and Ald. Mike D'Amato is against UWM taking over Columbia Hospital? Surprise, surprise.

Actually, he does have a point:

Scenario One: Hospital is sold to the uniersity. UWM renovates it to serve as classroom, office, housing, retail, and parking space. Since the university owns the property, the land is tax-exempt and does not generate any revenue for the City.

Scenario Two: Hospital is sold to a private developer. Developer renovates it to serve as classroom, office, housing, retail, and parking space which would be made available for UWM to lease. Since the property would be privately owned, it would generate tax revenue for the City.

In the first scenario, there is only one winner--the university. The second scenario is win-win for UWM and the City.

[CityGawd5]

How is the cash-strapped UW system having to pay to lease the space a win for UWM?

[MSPtoMKE]

I think, however, that D'Amato would be against anything that includes housing for *GASP* students.

Anyways, this is basically the only place for UWM to expand that is not a satelite campus. An increased tax base for the city is all well and good, but not if it gets in the way of the only way that UWM can get the expansion that it needs, as UWM is an asset to the city (contrary to Mr. D'Amato's opinion)

As for burning down buildings, might i suggest Lapham Hall? It's already got massive holes in it. ;)

[CityGawd5]

Can we add Bolton and EMS to that list?

[Markitect]

How is the cash-strapped UW system having to pay to lease the space a win for UWM?

An increased tax base for the city is all well and good, but not if it gets in the way of the only way that UWM can get the expansion that it needs, as UWM is an asset to the city (contrary to Mr. D'Amato's opinion)

UWM would get the space it needs without having to be financially responsible for buying the buildings, fixing them up, and keeping them maintained.

D'Amato knows perfectly well that UWM is an asset to the city, but even still, that does not mean the university should be allowed to strong-arm the neighborhood/City into doing whatever it wants.

[MSPtoMKE]

Obviously i was being somewhat sarcastic in saying that D'Amato doesn't view UWM as an asset, but he certainly doesn't think of students as an asset. Cuz all we do is disturb his 'real' constituents.

[CGII]

As for the Sydney Hih...

I heard today that it would probably cost $50k, which isn't bad (considering the pictures I saw on the news) and likely won't back the developer away. :)

[CGII]

Can we add Bolton and EMS to that list?
Why don't you take down Sandburg and the Union if you're in the act of squashing all the brutalism at UWM.:P
Don't tear 'em down-I like the exteriors, but the insides are, how do you say, out of date. ;) Maybe a few more buildings like the Architecture Bldg and we'd be in good shape. :D

[Markitect]

but he certainly doesn't think of students as an asset. Cuz all we do is disturb his 'real' constituents.

Again, not true. D'Amato isn't against students, per se, he is against those students who are disruptive to the community and those who bring it down. And actually, that can be broadened to anybody ewho is a disruptive influence, not just members of the student population. And in that case, the same thing can be attributed to pretty much all aldermen everywhere.

Note how D'Amato was in support of the Kenilworth project, which incorporates several new off-campus student housing units.

As for the Sydney Hih...

I heard today that it would probably cost $50k, which isn't bad (considering the pictures I saw on the news) and likely won't back the developer away.

Yeah, I saw this on the news a few minutes ago. Good news. And luckily the part of the building where the fire occurred was already vacant in anticipation of the condo conversion work.

[CGII]

Now if only we could get the hippie squares back. :P
http://my.execpc.com/~arrognli/jrpastel/thrdwrd1.jpg
(For those who don't know-the fire occured in the middle building, the 4 storey one the light on the lampost touches)

[Markitect]

Mayor Barrett and County Executive Walker are at odds over what the State and Federal government should do with the money they receive from the sale of County-owned land in the Park East corridor.

Walker has been pushing to have that money used to demolish the agiang Courthouse Annex parking sturcture which sits atop the northbound lanes of I-43. Walker believes the annex could be structurally weakened due to the nearby Marquette Interchange construction work that will be going on beneath the building for the next three years. He also says it would cost several million dollars just to maintain the building into the near future if it remained in place. Hence, it would make sense to demolish the annex when that part of the freeway is closed for interchange reconstruction, and a new COunty building couldbe built elsewhere as a replacement. The State has said in the past if the Coutny wants the Annex demolished, the County should pay for it. Waler's proposal has received lukewarm reception from County supervisors as well.

Meanwhile, Barrett has proposed that procedes of Park East land sales could be used to help remodel the downtown Amtrak station into a train and bus terminal. WisDOT's current plan for the station have been met with opposition from City officals for it's lackluster architecture, poor urban design, and trying to cram too many uses into the existing building. Under Barrett's proposal, the Department of City Development would work together with WisDOT's architects and devleopers to create a more appropriately designed urban train/bus terminal (with a modernistic facade, an exciting atrium, and a mixed-use parking garage to replace surface parking lots). While no new designs have been worked up, such a project would undoubtedly cost more than the current $4.5 million WisDOT design. Under Barrett's proposal, a better stattion could be designed using some or all of the estimated $9.9 million of State/Federal money from Park East land sales, plus $5 million worth of tax incremental financing from the City.

An existing deal between the State, County, and City procliams that State/Federal money received from Park East Land sales must toward transportaion projects within Milwaukee County in accordance of a federal highway funding law. Under that law, however, highway finds can be used for intercity bus stations (which is a component of the Amtrak station makeover).

Read it in the Journal Sentinel: Park East money in sights of both Barrett, Walker - It could fund Amtrak station upgrade or garage teardown (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/apr05/321642.asp)

[Markitect]

The City's efforts to create a business park at the western end of the Menomonee Valley have started to pay off. Palermo Villa Inc., a fast-growing frozen pizza business, announced plans to consolidate operations onto a 14-acre site near the 35th Street Viaduct. The company's current facilities are on Milwaukee's South Side and suburban Chicago.

Pending approval from the Redevelopment Authority and Common Council, Palmero Villa hopes to start construction on the 100,000-square-foot facility this fall. The City's sustainable design guidelines will be incorpoated into the building's architecture.

From the Journal Sentinel: Valley business park lands first project - Palermo Villa to build, consolidate frozen pizza making operations (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/apr05/322243.asp)

[CGII]

I'm sure most of you have heard about the Coast Guard Station fire, but I'll recap it for anyone who didn't.

A fire broke out at the abandoned and crumbling Coast Guard Station on Friday night-several fire trucks rushed to the scene and backed up Lincoln Memorial back to the War Memorial. A snippet in the Journal Sentinal this morning said that the fire was restricted to the second floor and attic-a picture showed a hole punched through the roof by the fire. Investigators said that there was evidence of previous fires inside the building.

Now, considering this building's been out of use for 20 some years and boarded up and such is a little suspicous....not to mention the Sydney Hih fire a couple days ago, in a vacant building. There is no doubt in my mind at the moment these were both arson victims-maybe by the same culprit?

The Historical Preservation Society makes sure nobody razes it, and since it's in such bad condition nobody wants to remodel it. It's kind of a black sheep on the lakefront...unfortunately. :(
http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/apr03/coastguard040803.jpgHere is an article from February 2005... (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/298819.asp)

Anyway, I've been checking in now and then around the demolition of the old Mercury Marine plant in Cedarburg...I'll have some pix up later, as most of the building is gone now.

Now then-as to where that money should go-
War Memorial. That should be a given. The 20 year old heating and cooling system is out of date and expected to kick the bucket anytime soon, and when it does, it'll destroy a lot of the priceless art in the galleries below. Such a shame that that's fallen into such a state of disrepair.

[Markitect]

The Historical Preservation Society makes sure nobody razes it, and since it's in such bad condition nobody wants to remodel it. It's kind of a black sheep on the lakefront...unfortunately.

Actually, there are active plans to remodel the old Coast Guard station into a Native American cultural center. That project has already received certain approvals, and the groups involved are in the financing stages.

Luckily, yesterday's little fire has not set back those plans.

Now then-as to where that money should go-
War Memorial. That should be a given. The 20 year old heating and cooling system is out of date and expected to kick the bucket anytime soon, and when it does, it'll destroy a lot of the priceless art in the galleries below. Such a shame that that's fallen into such a state of disrepair.

You mean the money from Park East land sales? That has to be used for transportation projects, as per the agreement between the County, State, and Federal governments. It cannot be used for anything else. While the War Memorial/Art Museum building is in need of repairs and upgrades, money for that most definitely should come from some other source.

[MSPtoMKE]

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call razing the Courthouse annex a transportation project? Sure it is over I-43, but what would tearing it down do to improve transportation? Thats a rhetorical question because the answer is nothing.

[Markitect]

Technically speaking, demolishing the Annex is considered a transportation project because it is a measure that would involve improving safety on the freeway beneath the building. The decaying state of the building is unsafe, as chunks of the facade routinely fall onto the roadway below. Hence it is a highway improvement project (which would be an addendum to the ongoing Marquette Interchange reconstruction project, which is rebuilding everything in that area from the ground up already).

So it is not really a stretch at all, as it is a highway safety improvement, which would fall under the definition of a "highway project" in accordance with the multi-governmental agreement.

[Markitect]

The story of Farwell Avenue's revival was highlighted in today's Journal Sentinel. This major srteet on the East Side has always been relatively active and diverse, but had certainly seen better days a few decades ago. More recently, the street has seen a renaissance, with new construction, renovations, streetscaping, and impending gentrification--and the trend will continue into the forseeable future.

See the Journal Sentinel for the full story: East side revival story - No longer Prospect Ave.'s 'ugly stepsister,' Farwell Ave. is enjoying a boom in development (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/apr05/322526.asp)

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/may05/farwell.two0501_big.jpg
^ An aerial view of The Sterling condo/retail building going up along N. Farwell Avenue, which runs-left-to-right behind the construction site in this shot.

[CGII]

The Courthouse Annex isn't a particularly attractive building, and I guess it'll have to come down. I always like how it sort of added to the urbanity of that stretch of 43. It would be nice (though highly unlikely) if a new, structurally improved garage were built over it in it's place.

[CGII]

Fixing City Hall won't come easy
By GREG J. BOROWSKI
gborowski@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 1, 2005
As one of the oldest buildings in Milwaukee, City Hall has a way of standing out but also of blending into the background.

So it is one thing to notice the tight arches, stately columns and snarling gargoyles that adorn the 110-year-old structure, which a month ago was declared a National Historic Landmark.

It is another to spot the 2-by-4s wedged in place to support sagging bricks, the stains that indicate troublesome cracks, and even the netting around the four turrets of the bell tower that catches some of the chunks of mortar that fall, though others sail to the ground below.

There is one thing, though, forcing residents and elected officials to take a closer look: An eye-popping $70 million repair bill, far higher than the anticipated $44 million. According to the city's Legislative Reference Bureau, it would be the costliest building-related project in city history.

Mayor Tom Barrett and aldermen, who have wrestled with the cost since bids came in, have three weeks to decide what to do - accept the lowest bid, or reopen the project with no guarantees that the new bids will be any lower. Do all the work now, or delay some, even though it almost surely means more repairs will be needed at a higher cost later.

For elected officials, it is a decision that pits civic pride - restoring the city's original symbol, the Calatrava of its day - against the realities of a tight budget and a host of pressing needs, from police to potholes.

In short: A legacy vote, the sort that puts your name on a plaque outside a carefully restored building. Or an opposing vote that seems more certain to keep tax-weary residents happy and return you safely to office.

Interviews with Mayor Tom Barrett, key aldermen and others show a deep frustration with the cost. Many are not convinced the costs can be reined in, but there is general agreement that the work needs to be completed. And soon.

On Tuesday, several aldermen plan to introduce a resolution that calls for Barrett to lead a community campaign to raise outside money to help cover the cost - something the mayor says could well be put together.

So far, though, the project - first discussed in 2002 - has lumbered through the process, as materials and labor costs have skyrocketed.

And officials have done little in the way of building public understanding of the repair needs or generating the widespread support needed as the budget-straining project is launched.

Indeed, some aldermen have received e-mails from residents who suggest that the building ought to be sold and a new City Hall built for less somewhere else. That is not being seriously considered.

"It's just a wonderful, wonderful building," said Charles Engberg of Engberg Anderson Design, a Milwaukee firm that has been hired to consult the city on the project.

"We feel it merits at least as much attention for its design and character as the Calatrava (Milwaukee Art Museum addition) does," he said. "For its day, it was revolutionary. It's still one of the best public buildings in the country."

He cites the National Historic Landmark designation, above the longstanding listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The status was achieved as part of the renovation review process, but it did not get so much as a horn-toot of pride from officials who must underline the project's significance for residents.

That designation, which brings eligibility for some federal help for the work, puts City Hall in the same category of such history-laden sites as Monticello, Mt. Vernon or Old North Church.

When City Hall was constructed, it was the third-tallest structure in the nation, behind the Washington Monument and Philadelphia's City Hall, also a historic landmark.

Philadelphia's City Hall, which is somewhat larger, is in the midst of a 10-year, $200 million project. That figure includes interior work.

The Milwaukee project, which covers only the exterior of the building, first surfaced publicly in 2002. At the time, Department of Public Works officials said studies and reviews had placed a $44 million price tag on the project. The actual construction work was expected to tally about $34 million.

The project, designed to be completed over four years, includes partial replacement of the roof, tuckpointing the exterior walls to guard against water damage and structural work to deal with other problems, including the faces of the bell tower that are bowing slightly outward.

Much of the major work is on the 350-foot bell tower, which has graced postcards, T-shirts, letterheads and was part of the opening credits of "Laverne & Shirley." The upper portion of the tower will be rebuilt brick by brick but with a reconstituted support system inside.

Costs rise
Its copper roof, now weathered to a familiar green, will be replaced. Rising copper costs and a shortage of companies that can do the needed terra cotta work contributed to the higher-than-expected bids. Under Mayor John O. Norquist, the city approved the project. So far, the council has authorized about $37 million in borrowing for the work. It was spaced out over several years so it would not hit the city's capital budget all at one time.

Bids went out in December. Public works officials say there was heavy interest from contractors, including several national players in the specialized field of historic renovations.

In the end, though, only two bids came in, both from area contractors - $60 million from the Brookfield office of Janesville-based J.P. Cullen & Sons, and $64 million from Hunzinger Construction of Brookfield.

The project includes about $10 million in design and other costs, so the price tag now stands at about $70 million. The city has received a 30-day extension for deciding what to do with the bids, which puts the new deadline at May 24.

If the city decides to accept a bid, it must take the low one from J.P. Cullen. That is the firm that did the recent renovation work at the state Capitol in Madison.

The Capitol project cost $141 million and involved extensive interior and exterior work.

Experts say it is difficult to compare costs and projects, since much depends on the nature of the building, including its design and the materials used for construction.

City Hall, for instance, is almost entirely a masonry building. That is, brick. At its base, walls are six feet thick, changing to four feet thick and finally two feet thick on the top floors. Steel is not introduced as a structural element until part way up the bell tower, a high-tech solution at the time.

There, the steel is used to support the copper roof and, of course, the 11-ton bell, the Solomon Juneau, named for the city's first mayor.

Barrett, aldermen and DPW officials are wrestling with many issues, chiefly whether costs can be lowered by breaking the project into smaller pieces, in hopes of attracting more - and lower - bidders.

Some, such as Ald. Jim Bohl, advocate doing so: "I suspect we have more to gain than to potentially lose."

Others, such as Ald. Bob Donovan, worry that reopening the bids will mean higher costs.

If bids are redone, the city likely would have to spend about $300,000 to replace the frayed netting on the bell tower, in addition to other moves to shore up parts of the building, while the process moves ahead.

"I'm concerned if we go out for bids again, we'll get even higher costs," Donovan said.

Accepting the $60 million bid is one way to, in effect, lock in the cost. If the cost of materials and labor go up over the next years, the price is secure.

Barrett said all possibilities are being reviewed, including how to deal with the higher costs from a budgeting perspective. The city hopes to rein in its overall borrowing costs. To meet its goal, other major projects might have to be delayed to allow for City Hall.

"There is extensive work that has to be done soon," Barrett said.

"I think we all believe we must work to save City Hall," said Common Council President Willie Hines. "We clearly want to do so at the smallest impact to taxpayers."

DPW officials gave a report to aldermen April 21 that lays out possible reasons for the bids, which came in 76% higher than expected.

The city attorney's office has told DPW not to discuss the bids with either bidder. Thus, the possible reasons were derived after talking to firms that decided not to bid, and others.

Among them:

Lack of competition: The $44 million estimate was based on getting at least five bidders. Studies have indicated that when only two firms bid on a project, the bids come in 15% to 23% higher than if more bid. In this case, that would mean up to $8 million more.

Materials: An increase in the price of copper may have added $1 million. The bigger issue, though, is the cost of terra cotta, a key material that was used by builders because it was sturdy but lightweight and allowed for details to be used in molds or carved into the pieces. There are only two firms in the United States that can handle the terra cotta work, and it came in $6 million above expectations.

And, despite extensive examinations of the building, there are questions about what will be found as reconstruction work actually begins. Uncertainty may have kept some firms out of the bidding.

Construction costs: Within the past year, construction costs went up an average of 10%, while the estimate carried a 3.5% escalation factor. The difference: $2.2 million.

Workforce requirements: Both bidders met the city's requirement for 18% of the work to go to minority- and women-owned businesses, and for 25% of the workers to come from targeted ZIP codes through the Residents Preference Program.

Since much of the work is highly specialized, some contractors said additional training would be needed to achieve the goal on workers. According to the DPW report, training needs may have added $3 million to the cost.

Barrett said maintaining the requirement is important. He has pointed to old photos of the building under construction that show many African-Americans at work.

"I certainly think that on a structure symbolizing the city of Milwaukee, as important as it is, the people who are working to rebuild City Hall should reflect the diversity of the city," Barrett said.

Ald. Joe Davis, an advocate of such programs, questioned whether they really add to the cost. He is unsure whether he will back the project unless the price tag can be reduced.

He is among aldermen who have been given a tour of the bell tower in recent weeks, an effort by DPW officials to underline the depth of the problems.

"I was surprised," Davis said. "From down on the ground, you really can't see the magnitude of the damage."

Shortcomings mount
The last major work on the building was done in 1973, though it was not as extensive as the project planned now. In many cases, mortar that was used to patch cracks then has fallen out as the cracks expanded.

In recent years, sensors have been used along cracks to determine how fast they are expanding. In addition, a team of experienced mountain climbers was used to rappel down the tower to examine bricks and take pictures of problem spots.

Gary Kulwicki, the DPW engineer overseeing the project, has given the tour so many times he can see some changes in the cracks just by looking at them. While the tower is in no danger of falling, he said, the deterioration will only become more severe.

"Right now we've got problems with the surface, not the core of the building," he said. "The building hasn't failed. You get older and you start getting cracks and wrinkles. It's the same with the structure."

The building, designed in Flemish Renaissance style by architect Henry Koch, includes many features that are repeated throughout the building - arches, pillars, dormers, gables.

The repetition is pleasing to the eye and, Kulwicki said, a good benchmark for emerging problems.

"With the repetition, the same problem you see over here," he said, standing near the bell and pointing to each wall, "you see starting over there. And it will happen over there and over there."

For instance, there are keystones at the top of arches that have begun to slip. Some frames between columns are propped up with plywood and 2-by-4s. In other spots, sagging bricks are supported by metal braces.

The netting around the tower's four turrets is barely visible from street level - just like the eight lioness gargoyles, two on each side. Up close, though, visitors see the netting and brickwork supported by straps. In some spots, pieces of mortar have fallen. In others, copper panels on the roof are breaking apart, with daylight spilling through some cracks.

Closer to street level, the sandstone above the Water St. entrance is wearing away, visible in dark, deteriorated patches. At the base of the bell tower, between the cherubs, decorative details have been blurred, as if sanded away by the weather.

Since 2002, street-level scaffolding has formed a protective canopy over the sidewalk. Falling pieces occasionally hit cars. It is the sort of problem that would send city inspectors to private buildings to demand repairs.

When constructed, City Hall carried a price tag $945,311, though an additional $71,624 was needed to complete it.

At the time, it towered over neighboring structures. Engberg, whose firm prepared the national landmark application for the building, has seen some of the old photos.

"It towered over everything the way a Gothic cathedral towers over a village in France," he said.

Today, amid the neighboring office towers, the most towering thing about City Hall may be the price tag for the repairs.

Ald. Joe Dudzik is among those torn over what to do.

"This building is more Milwaukee to me than the Calatrava ever will be," he said.

Later, he added: "I really think it will cost $100 million before it's done. I don't know if I'm prepared to be booted out of office for voting for that."



From the May 2, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may05/cityhall1050105.jpg
When City Hall was built, it was the third-tallest building in the United States. Today, the 110-year-old structure is in need of major exterior repairs. [CG2 adds-it was only shorter than New York's Pulitzer Building and Philly City Hall-it was shorter than the Washington Monument, but the article failed to recognize it as a non-habital building-it also forgot to mention the World Pulitzer Building. Here's what it said... ;)]
Did You Know?
When City Hall was constructed, it was the third-tallest structure in the nation, behind the Washington Monument and Philadelphia’s City Hall.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may05/cityhall2050105.jpg
Netting is placed around the tower of City Hall to prevent pieces from falling on pedestrians.
http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may05/cityhall3050105.jpg
The exterior of City Hall shows damaged and discolored bricks on the 110-year-old structure.
http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may05/cityhall4050105.jpg
Sensors were used in 2003 to monitor the cracks on City Hall for an entire year.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/may05/322928.asp

[Jason]

When City Hall was constructed, it was the third-tallest structure in the nation, behind the Washington Monument and Philadelphia’s City Hall.

I always wondered about this. Very interesting indeed.

[Markitect]

Last week the Department of City Development and PabstCity developers hammered out a $39 million tax incremental financing plan to help pay for the brewery project. As part of the agreement, the amount of public subsidy could be lowered if developers are able to land tenants for the project at higher lease rates than initially projected.

PabstCity developers have received letters of intent to lease from Jenco Cinemas, with plans to open a 16-screen movie theater; House of Blues, with plans to open a nightclub, restaurant, concert venue; and Sega Gameworks, with plans to open a video arcade-themed restaurant. Developers are currently in talks to bring in Trader Joe's as a gourmet grocer anchor tenant. Other commercial tenant ideas still in the works include a museum of beer and brewing, a bed-an-breakfast inn, a Hofbrauhaus brewpub, as well as other specialty retailers.

In total, PabstCity would include 488,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, 257,000 square feet of office space (no known tenants yet), and 250 apartments and condos. Plans call for rehabilitating 12 buildings in the brewey complex, and demolishing the reamining 14 to clear the way for new construction.

In the coming weeks the wil need approval from the Joint Review Board, the Redevelopment Authority, and the Common Council before moving forward.

From the Business Journal article: Agreement reached on PabstCity funding (http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2005/05/02/daily33.html?page=1)


***


Meanwhile, owners of existing entertainment venues in the city are claiming the proposed PabstCity nightclubs, theaters, and restaurants will draw customers away from their own establishments.

Read the details in this article from the Journal Sentinel: Rivals rip PabstCity finance plan - Harm to existing theaters, nightclubs feared (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/may05/324232.asp)


***


Despite rising costs and growing competition, locally-based Alterra Coffee Roasters, Inc. continue plans to remodel an old warehouse into a new headquarters. The price tag to renovate the old building in Riverwest (near N. Humboldt Boulevard and E. Locust Street) stands at $3 million. When completed in 2006, it will include Atlterra's administrative offices, a new coffee roasting facility, a wholesale bakery, a cafe, and additional neighborhood retail space.

The firm is no stranger to historic rehabilitation and interesting design. Alterra opened a coffee shop in the historic pumping station on the lakefront, and won a Mayor's Design Award for its coffee shop on N. Prospect Avenue.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/bym/img/may05/alterra3050705.jpg
^ A rendering of Alterra Coffee Roasters new headquarters, a renovated warehouse in Riverwest. Plans include recladding the facades in cream city brick, adding large windows for natural light, and an outdoor patio.

Full details in the Journal Sentinel: Coffee with conscience - Alterra won't tear down building, despite high costs (http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/may05/324282.asp)


***


With the recent City-to-State transfer of land ownership, Lakeshore State Park is one step closer to becoming a reality, although the process have been very very slow over the years. Much of the hang-up involves accessability issues to the manmade island itself, as well as the adjacent Maier Festival Park, which is City-owned property leased by Milwaukee World Festival--the company that puts on all of the lakefront ethnic and music festivals.

In the coming years, Harbor Island will receive a few public improvements as it is turned into Lakeshore State Park. At the north end, a bridge will link existing pathways on the lakefront and island. Such a link already exists at the southern end. A small building contaiing restrooms and showers will built at the north end, next to 20-24 new boat slips. On the lagoon side of the park, a pebble beach will be added for kyakers and steps leading down into the water for fishing. The open lawn area will be improved and gathering spaces created for picnicers. A breakwater extending south from Municipal Pier is also included in the park project, which will help protect the Denis Sullivan schooner across the way at Pier Wisconsin, and will also serve as a place for cruise ships to dock (right now they often use the industrial docks down on Jones Island).

http://www.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may05/lakeshore050805.jpg
^ Harbor Island sits just off the lakeshore, a blank slate for recreational opportunities. For the uninitiated, Maier Festival Park is visible along the left edge; Municipal Pier juts out into the water above the island----where Pier Wisconsin's Great Lakes education center and Discovery World science museum are being constructed.


http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may05/lakeshore08G2-big.gif
^ This map shows the improvements that will be made to create Lakeshore State Park.


http://www.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/may05/dowd050805.jpg
^ Even in its current unimproved state, Harbor Island is quite popular for recreational activities. The lakefront residential high-rise district across the bay is visible in the background.

See the Journal Sentinel article for more info: Island of promises - State ownership of land begins to fulfill vow of public access even as debate on its use continues (http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/may05/324458.asp)