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 and wonderful things.

• Brewery equipment manufacturer and distributor Spike Brewing plans to buy a vacant, city-owned, and thoroughly contaminated lot near N. Holton Street and W. Capitol Drive and build a 70,000-square-foot solar-powered factory there. Spike currently has 25 employees and operates out of a leased space in the Riverworks business park.

Urban Milwaukee has the details:

Spike’s plans call for a test brewery for customer demonstrations and brewing lessons, an engineering lab, dedicated office space and space for three new production lines: commercial tanks, electrical panels and CNC coiling. The firm would initially occupy 45,000 square feet of the facility, leasing the remaining space until expansion warrants taking it over. [Founder Ben] Caya hopes to create 20 additional jobs.

How much will Spike pay for the city-owned site? One dollar. How much will government agencies and past and present owners pay to clean up the site, which used to be home to the Milwaukee Die Casting Co.? More than $15 million. [Urban Milwaukee]

• That four-story, 56-unit apartment building planned for the site of the long-shuttered RC’s Beer Garden and Buddha Lounge on the East Side has netted some city approvals. The building is being marketed to folks who don’t own cars, and for some reason it’s a big deal that it won’t have a lot of parking—much like 8,000 other apartment buildings on the East Side and throughout the city. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

• That five-story, 257-unit apartment building planned for a site north of E. Summerfest Place and west of N. Lincoln Memorial Drive netted some city approvals, too. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

• Work has begun on that 31-story, 333-unit apartment building at 333 N. Water Street. You know, that empty parking lot across the street and just south of the Milwaukee Public Market. [Urban Milwaukee]

• The longtime home of Ma Baensch at 1025 E. Locust St. has been sold and is going to be converted into…something. [Milwaukee Business Journal]

• An old industrial building at 2202-2210 W. Clybourn St. may be converted into an event space called The Clybourn. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

• Another event space! This one is located at 231 E. Buffalo St., and is called Reign! [Urban Milwaukee]

• A vacant school building at 3201 N. 40th St. in the Sherman Park neighborhood may be converted into a child care center. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

• Big biking/walking trail news! [Urban Milwaukee]

• Headline: “This east side street near Crossroads Collective shut down for the Summer Soulstice Music Fest. Should it become a permanent public plaza?” Answer: YES. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

• And what did we learn this week? Well, they’re always building something. Isn’t that right, old song from my old band?

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Co-Founder and Editor

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