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.
• If you’ve driven/walked/skipped through Marquette University lately you’ve noticed that the iconic “beer can” McCormick Residence Hall on Wisconsin Avenue is no more. But the site won’t be empty for long: Marquette has announced it will soon be the home of a $70 million, five-story building for the College of Business Administration. Construction is expected to begin in 2021.
According to OnMilwaukee:
It will be funded primarily from donations from “alumni, parents and friends,” according to a statement issued by Marquette after the address. So far, the project has garnered more than $44 million, including a dozen gifts of more than $1 million each.
But wait, there’s more! The new building will also house an “interdisciplinary innovation space,” as well as a “multipurpose event space, upgraded labs and classrooms, and a pitch stage upon which students can share their ideas in competitive pitches.” [OnMilwaukee]
• Speaking of Marquette, a vacant lot near the university, located at 541 N. 20th St., could be the site of a new $1.2 million, 27-unit apartment building. [Urban Milwaukee]
• The old North Shore American Legion Hall in Shorewood could be knocked down and replaced with 10 three-story townhomes. The Legion Hall—once the site of many an all-ages show—served its last fish fry in 2019. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• A developer group wants to demolish two small apartments and two houses on the corner of East North Avenue and North Summit Place and replace them with a seven-story, 90-unit apartment building. “They’re asking for a big density jump,” Ald. Nik Kovac says. “It’s a big ask and we’ve got to decide as a neighborhood.” [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• The fog is getting thicker, and New Land Enterprises’ “tallest mass timber building in the world” is getting laaaaarger. [Urban Milwaukee]
• In his 2018 State of the City address, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett pledged to build 10,000 affordable homes in the next decade. In his 2020 State of the City address, Mayor Barrett said his plan is on track. [Urban Milwaukee]
• The Milwaukee Brewers want to fill Miller Park/AmFam Field with a bunch of structures in the shape of their new/old “ball-and-glove” logo. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• A 57-unit apartment building is planned for a vacant lot at 3317-3349 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. [Urban Milwaukee]
• That big surface parking lot across from the Wisconsin Center—once the site of “The Spot 4MKE”—just can’t seem to be developed into anything. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Speaking of the Wisconsin Center, the Milwaukee Common Council approved the use of state moral obligation bonds for an expansion of the downtown convention center. [OnMilwaukee]
• Question: Is a 50-story tower coming to Milwaukee’s lakefront? Answer: Maybe one day, but not anytime soon! [Urban Milwaukee]