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!
• Make that “new and wonderful things they’re repairing in Milwaukee”: Despite repeated repairs—including a $75 million repair job roughly 15 years ago—chunks of Milwaukee City Hall’s terra cotta facade continue to break off. Now, a new “temporary facade stabilization” is being floated to the tune of $1.62 million.
“There is some flaking of the fabrication and as our first and main responsibility is safety, the netting is being put up as a precaution to hold the flaking pieces of the terra cotta in place and prevent any from falling to the sidewalk or street surrounding City Hall,” a DPW spokesperson told Urban Milwaukee. “The work should begin in April and conclude in October.”
And yes, “more substantial repairs will need to be undertaken in the future.” [Urban Milwaukee]
• Back in 2020 we ran a “Mandatory Milwaukee” article on the never-ending construction/repair of City Hall. We said:
Construction of Milwaukee’s glorious City Hall (200 E. Wells St.) was completed in 1895. For the next four years, it was the largest occupied structure on Earth. (The building measures 393 feet from sidewalk to bell tower.) For the next 78 years, it was the tallest building in Wisconsin. (It was surpassed in 1973 by the U.S. Bank Center, which remains the tallest building in the state today.)
And, it seems, for City Hall’s entire existence, it has been under further construction or reconstruction. Wondering why is as Mandatory Milwaukee as the building itself.
And oh yeah: City Hall was/is sinking. Literally. [Milwaukee Record]
• You know that relatively barren stretch of Michigan Street where they plan to build the so-called Iron District, complete with an 8,000-seat indoor soccer stadium? Well, the stretch between Water and 8th is going to get a big ol’ $2.5 million overhaul. The project will “swap some car lanes for protected bike lanes and include other changes under a new plan from Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s administration.” Construction is expected to begin this fall. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• The University Club at 924 E. Wells St. closed in December 2023, and has since been sold to an affiliate of Northwestern Mutual. Will the former social club be redeveloped for residential use? Maybe! [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Headline: “Why Is North Point Parking Lot Closed?” Reason: They’re repairing the stone barrier between the parking lot and Lake Michigan. [Urban Milwaukee]
• This week in “Here, argue about the streetcar” news: The Hop’s new L-Line will fully open on April 11. The lakefront-focused line goes through the transit concourse of the new Couture building; residents are expected to move into the 44-story luxury apartment tower later this month. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• And finally, OH GOD THEY’RE ACTUALLY KNOCKING DOWN NORTHRIDGE MALL! Well, the city-owned Boston Store portion of Northridge, at least. “Destruction of the rest of the mall, a 900,000-square-foot structure, is expected to follow later this year,” reports [Urban Milwaukee].
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