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.
• Is there any pocket of the city that’s immune to the promise of new shit? No. Take the partially redeveloped but still-not-redeveloped-enough Menomonee Valley. According to BizTimes, dozens of acres of vacant land can still be found in the downtown-ish area—many of them with primo riverfront access. Enter the City of Milwaukee, the Menomonee Valley Partners, and UWM’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning’s Community Design Solutions, who, over the past few months, have worked with six local architectural firms to come up with visions for five vacant or underused Menomonee Valley sites. Everything from skate parks and dog parks, hotels and restaurant hubs, and retail and tourism destinations have been proposed. BizTimes notes: “Rocky Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development, said the design concepts suggest the best days of the valley are still ahead of it.” [BizTimes]
• Milwaukee School of Engineering’s new 64,000-square-foot, $34 million computer sciences/AI building will change Milwaukee’s tech scene, says the donor for Milwaukee School of Engineering’s new 64,000-square-foot, $34 million computer sciences building. The building is set to be completed in time for the 2019 fall semester. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• That long-vacant lot on the corner of Fourth Street and Wisconsin Avenue downtown (once home to the ill-fated Spot 4MKE) continues to remain new-shit-free. Plans to redevelop the two-acre parcel have been amended, this time without the involvement of the across-the-street Wisconsin Center. [BizTimes]
• The southwest corner of East St. Paul Avenue and North Jefferson Street in the city’s Historic Third Ward neighborhood may become a seven-story mixed-use apartment building, an above-ground parking lot, and a We Energies substation. [BizTimes]
• A two-story, 11,300-square-foot warehouse at 1920 N. King Dr. may be converted into commercial and residential space. One or two apartments are planned for the second floor, while the first floor may become an “events venue, co-working space, [or] a professional services provider.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• In “Here’s All The New Shit They’re Building In Wauwatosa” news, Mandel Group Inc. has purchased the last remaining land in the Milwaukee County Research Park, and is set to use it for a four-story, 102-unit apartment building, as well as a fitness center and a cafe. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Milwaukee Film is getting ready to spruce up the Oriental Theatre when it takes control of the East Side icon in July. First up: new bathrooms! [Urban Milwaukee]