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.

• SG Property Development + Management will demolish the Bay View American Legion Post at 2860 S. Kinnickinnick Ave. and replace it with a 36-unit apartment complex. The restaurant on the ground floor of the building, Little DeMarinis, closed earlier this year.

Oh well: new apartments! Everyone’s happy! Except Bay View alderman Tony Zielinski, that is. “We have been able to preserve our neighborhoods in Bay View,” Zielinski told BizTimes. “This location is too residential. I am opposed to this particular project.” Despite Zielinski’s misgivings, demolition is expected to being in mid-October. [BizTimes]

• Speaking of Bay View, Milwaukee’s Plan Commission gave a unanimous thumbs-up to, well, a plan to convert less than one block of E. Archer Avenue into a public plaza known as Archer Plaza. New Land Enterprises is building a six-story, 144-unit apartment building at nearby 2130 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. (a.k.a. the old Hamburger Mary’s site). The plaza would also connect to nearby Zillman Park. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

• Milwaukeeans of a certain age and inclination may remember The Fortress, a massive complex at 100 E. Pleasant St. the long housed artists, bands, and other “creatives.” Now, Milwaukeeans of a certain age and tax bracket can enjoy The Fortress starting at $1,125 per month, all the way up to $2,725 per month, because that’s how much units are going for in the now-converted, nearly completed 132-unit apartment building. And don’t forget the three-level, two-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse for only $3,700 per month! [Urban Milwaukee]

• Milwaukee’s near west side was awarded a $1.3 million federal grant in order to “help plan for a major public housing rehab,” and fund “deeper efforts to further improve the area for residents and businesses.” [Milwaukee Business Journal]

• It’s full speed ahead on a bunch of downtown developments, including the rehabilitation of the Sentinel Building at 225 E. Mason St. [Urban Milwaukee]

• On the other hand, it’s slow going for the much-ballyhooed Couture project at 909 E. Michigan St. “We’ve been very patient for a very long time,” said Milwaukee County Board Supervisor John Weishan, Jr. in regards to the lack of progress on the 44-story, 300-unit apartment tower. [Urban Milwaukee]

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