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.
• Et tu, Johnson’s Park? Yes, the gone-but-not-forgotten amusement park on North 76th Street could soon be redeveloped into—guess what!—apartments. Sigh. More apartments. Just another beloved Milwaukee landmark turned into…what’s that? Oh, developer Brandon Rule wants to build affordable apartments there? Oh, that’s good! And what’s that? He also wants to build another entertainment center there? Oh!!!
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal:
With nearly 10 acres, the site also has land for new entertainment uses, Rule said. Declining to discuss details, he said that entertainment could have a fitness and wellness component.
“It’ll definitely incorporate a youth entertainment piece and will not be exclusive to adults,” Rule said. “As Johnson’s Park was, it will have something for everyone.”
Once again: Oh!!! And needless to say: BRING BACK THE DINOSAUR! [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• You know that really busy and kind of dangerous intersection at 1st St. and E. Pittsburgh Ave.? The one near Stack’d, Colectivo, and 88Nine? Well, developer Robert Joseph wants to combine the intersection’s high-speed turn lane with an adjacent vacant lot and turn the whole thing into a six-story, mixed-use apartment building. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Wangard Partners Inc. has big plans for a 91-year-old building at 507 S. Second St. in Walker’s Point. The Wauwatosa-based developer wants to redevelop the so-called Eagle Knitting Mills building into “a collaborative innovation ecosystem of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)-related industries focused on bridging Milwaukee’s gap of inequality, segregation, income disparity, and inclusion.” There will be 25,000 square feet of incubator space, 50,000 square feet of affordable office space, and 30,000 additional square feet added to the existing building. [BizTimes]
• “I’m having my doubts about whether this is going to come to fruition or not,” says Supervisor Anthony Staskunas about the long-delayed and increasingly troubled Couture project. “How many 40 story buildings do we have in Milwaukee, we have one. I know how hard this is. And if you were sitting on this side of the table, I don’t think you’d say what you’ve said,” says developer Rick Barrett about the long-delayed and increasingly troubled Couture project. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Mandel Group Inc. wants to build a pedestrian bridge across the Milwaukee River that would connect its upcoming $150 million office, apartment, and hotel Harbor Yards project to the Third Ward. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• The tallest timber tower in the Western Hemisphere—coming soon to 700 E. Kilbourn Ave.—keeps getting taller. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Landlord-turned-developer Eric Grethe will transform a vacant lot on N. Newhall Street, near North Avenue, into a new four-unit townhouse complex. [Urban Milwaukee]
• The glass exterior of that big BMO Tower in downtown Milwaukee is done, man. [Milwaukee Business Journal]