Depending on which news sources you follow, Milwaukee is going through either a “renaissance” or a “reinvention.” However you want to define it, it’s safe to say that Milwaukee is currently building a lot of new and wonderful things! Here are some of them, brought to you by GTG Home Buyers!
• To build affordable senior housing on a county park or not to build affordable senior housing on a county park? That’s the question the Milwaukee County Board is currently struggling with.
Here’s the deal, in short: A proposal is before the County Board to lease 5.5 acres of McGovern Park, located on the city’s northwest side, to the nonprofit Jewish Family Services. Using private funds and state tax credits, JFS would redevelop its existing McGovern Park Senior Center, plus construct a new building—with up to 55 units of affordable senior housing—on McGovern Park. Milwaukee County would retain ownership of the park land, and would lease it to JFS for $1 per year, for 60 years.
County officials are currently divided on the issue. “As a county, if we don’t start thinking outside the box with the programs and services and the buildings we own and how we maintain and provide those services, we’re going to be having conversations about how we cut them moving forward,” says County Executive David Crowley.
“I strongly believe public spaces shouldn’t be used for living spaces,” says Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• Ground has been broken on the Neutral Edison, a.k.a. the “tallest mass timber building in the Western Hemisphere,” a.k.a. a 31-story high-end apartment building at 1005 N. Edison St. in downtown Milwaukee. The tower is scheduled to be completed in 2027. [Urban Milwaukee]
• The Neutral Edison is the work of Madison-based real estate developer Neutral, which also wants to build a 55-story mass timber building on the site of the current Marcus Performing Arts Center parking structure, 1001 N. Water St. Alderman Bob Bauman, however, isn’t crazy about that idea. (Neither are we, since it’s the site of our beloved Marcus Center snow pile.) [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• ICYMI: Milwaukee County plans to tear down its nearly 100-year-old Safety Building, 821 W. State St., and build a new one. “It’s expected the project will require as much as $500 million and take at least eight years to develop,” says [Urban Milwaukee].
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