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.
• A second tower for Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is on its way to becoming a reality. A groundbreaking ceremony for the “$80 million investment in the community” was held last Thursday, with Mayor Barrett and tribal council leadership in attendance. The 19-story tower, which was approved back in July, will house 119 rooms and suites, as well as a spa and meeting space. The tower is expected to open in the spring of 2019. [FOX6]
• Speaking of the spring of 2019, the Milwaukee Bucks’ much-ballyhooed “Live Block” won’t open until the spring of 2019. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Oh, and it won’t have a performance space. [Urban Milwaukee]
• In case you need a reminder that yes, the city really is going ahead with this whole streetcar thing, work has begun on the three Traction Power Substations (TPSS) that will help power the street…we’re sorry, “The Hop.” [OnMilwaukee]
• Marquette University’s new athletic performance research center will not only be smaller than initially planned, it will now be located near the southwest corner of West Wells Street and North 12th Street. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission gave a thumbs-up to a $30 million, seven-story, mixed-use apartment building on North Broadway, but did not vote on plans from the same developer to convert the St. James Episcopal Church on West Wisconsin Avenue into an events hall. The latter proposal can be considered again at the commission’s January meeting. [Milwaukee Business Journal]