Depending on which news sources you follow, Milwaukee is going through either a “renaissance” or a “reinvention.” Or maybe it’s a “reboot” or a “reimagining,” like that crappy Tim Burton version of Planet Of The Apes. However you want to define it, it’s safe to say that Milwaukee is currently building a lot of new shit.

• Typically when we round up all the new shit they’re building in Milwaukee, that new shit includes individual buildings, individual businesses, and individual developments. Hey, a new hotel! Hey, some more apartments! But rarely do we have the honor of writing about the impending construction of an entire neighborhood.

And yet here we are: Last week, the Mandel Group shocked the New Shit world by announcing its previous plans of building several hundred thousand square feet of new office space along the Milwaukee River in Walker’s Point had quickly changed to building a “mixed use neighborhood” along the same stretch. “Whenever possible, our clear preference is to conceive and develop a complete neighborhood rather than build individual buildings,” said Mandel Group’s Robert B. Monnat in a press release. Initial plans call for housing, office space, and a hotel. The neighborhood will be similar to the Mandel Group’s North End neighborhood on North Water Street. [Urban Milwaukee]

• Oh, and Mandel’s $130 million plan includes even more nifty stuff! According to that same press release:

Mandel’s urban design for the immediate area includes a 700′ Riverwalk, and a public plaza incorporating the southerly trestle extension of the historic railroad swing bridge—similar to the recently completed Trestle Park on East Erie Street. The firm is also intrigued by the idea of adding a movable bike and pedestrian bridge that threads through the superstructure of the railroad swing bridge centered in the Milwaukee River. As conceived, one‐half of the river span would be fixed and the other retractable, providing the same navigational clearance as bridges immediately up‐river from the historic swing bridge structure. The fixed half of the bridge would provide clearances in excess of downtown bridges, allowing a high percentage of boats to pass without having to interrupt bike/pedestrian traffic. [Milwaukee Business Journal]

• Speaking of Walker’s Point, the 126-year-old Lindsay Building on South Second Street could become an event center. If converted, the two large warehouses that form the building could host “art and other exhibits, conventions, corporate parties, winter farmers markets, weddings, church meetings, flea markets and conventions.” [BizTimes]

• And speaking of neighborhoods, the area surrounding the new Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra headquarters on West Wisconsin Avenue could become “a new pedestrian Valhalla.” [Milwaukee Business Journal]

• A relatively simple plan to build three single-family homes near Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital on the East Side hit a snag thanks to some peeved neighbors. The project is the brainchild of New Land Enterprises’ Tim Gokhman and Ann Shuk. [Urban Milwaukee]

• More New Land news: The company’s new seven-story downtown office building will feature “self-tinting windows, timber structural beams and floors, and balconies on every upper level.” [Milwaukee Business Journal]

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Co-Founder and Editor

Matt Wild weighs between 140 and 145 pounds. He lives on Milwaukee's east side.