Urban Milwaukee’s Upcoming Events & Meetings Calendar should help you keep up to date on important events effecting our neighborhoods, the City of Milwaukee, and our region.

March 2, 2010

Common Council Meeting

March 2, 2010 9:00 am

City Hall
200 East Wells St.
Common Council Chambers
Milwaukee, WI 53202[...]

UWM Real Estate Foundation Presentation on County Grounds Project

March 2, 2010 6:00 pm

Learn more about UWM’s plans for the Milwaukee County Grounds.

WHEN:
Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Comments/questions 6-6:30;
Presentation 6:30

WHERE:
Wauwatosa City Hall
7600 W North Ave

March 3, 2010

Milwaukee County: Committee on Transporation, Public Works and Transit

March 3, 2010 9:00 am

The mission of the Department of Public Works, including the construction and maintenance of county highways, bridges and public structures are the responsibility of this Committee. Members discuss all matters pertaining to the policy of mass transit and the Milwaukee County Transit System, including fares, service routes and capital improvements. The Committee discusses all matters [...]

Spreenkler + Launch Milwaukee: State of Southeastern WI Transit Panel

March 3, 2010 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Launch Milwaukee is partnering with Spreenkler to host a community meetup on March 3rd to talk about why Transit is important, what the legislation means, and how the proposed sales tax will provide property tax relief. Whether you want to express your opinion or just want to learn more about the issues surrounding Transit, please [...]

Learn more about UWM’s plans for the Milwaukee County Grounds.

WHEN:
Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Comments/questions 6-6:30;
Presentation 6:30

WHERE:
Wauwatosa City Hall
7600 W North Ave

City Hall
200 East Wells St.
Common Council Chambers
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Agenda

Launch Milwaukee is partnering with Spreenkler to host a community meetup on March 3rd to talk about why Transit is important, what the legislation means, and how the proposed sales tax will provide property tax relief. Whether you want to express your opinion or just want to learn more about the issues surrounding Transit, please join us at Hanson Dodge on Wed, March 3rd from 6-7:30 pm. An expert Transit Panel will be briefly presenting various perspectives on the issue, followed by an open discussion to express opinions and ask questions.

The panel of Transit experts presenting at the meetup include:
John Kissinger – Regional Vice President, GRAEF
Carl Cummings – User of the Transit system
Jeramey Jannene – Community Journalist, Founder of urbanmilwaukee.com
Meghan Carr – Community Development Consultant, Civitae

Pizza & beverages provided by Transfer Pizzeria & Cafe

AGENDA:
5:30 – 6:00 Join, mingle, eat, relax
6:00 – 7:30 Public Transit Panel w/ experts explaining existing situation, proposed plan & fielding questions
7:30 – 7:45 Network, eat, mingle
7:45 – ??? Meet us at Transfer Pizza for more drinks and fun!

Location: Hanson Dodge

The mission of the Department of Public Works, including the construction and maintenance of county highways, bridges and public structures are the responsibility of this Committee. Members discuss all matters pertaining to the policy of mass transit and the Milwaukee County Transit System, including fares, service routes and capital improvements. The Committee discusses all matters under its jurisdiction pertaining to railroads and public utilities in the county.

Meets at 9:00 A.M. on the 3rd Wednesday before the County Board Meeting

Agenda

Construction at St. John’s On The Lake

Prospect Construction

St. John’s Construction

Latitude Apartments

Farwell Side of Latitude Apartments

The residents of Waukesha County will love the Madison to Milwaukee high-speed rail line once it’s up and running, and not for any reason that readily jumps out at you.  Certainly residents of Waukesha County will likely use the train to get to Madison, but that’s not a big sell to the residents. Taking a train from Brookfield or Oconomowoc to the Madison Airport just isn’t all that appealing because of the distance. What is appealing though? First-class comfort from Milwaukee’s western suburbs to the heart of Chicago.

It’s all about Chicago, the capital of the Midwest. It always has been. The $823 million in federal funds isn’t about building a connection between Milwaukee and Madison, it’s about growing the link between those two cities and Chicago. There will be plenty of riders between Milwaukee and Madison, but viewing the line as simply a system for that is extremely misguided. Trains that originate in Madison will terminate in Chicago and vice versa.

What does that mean for residents of Waukesha County? A simple drive to a suburban rail station with free parking. Jump on a train with seats far more comfortable and spacious than what Midwest Airlines formerly offered. Pop open that laptop, hop on the wifi network, and enjoy a stress-free ride into The Loop in Chicago. Riders will be able to rack up billable hours, get caught up on email, read a book, or sleep. All options that are nearly impossible when driving. Get off the train and head to your destination in the heart of Chicago, by foot, cab, or another transit option.

Residents of Waukesha County have been able to accomplish this by driving to downtown Milwaukee and getting on the train at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station. That’s worked exceptionally well to-date, with ridership doubling on the Hiawatha over the past 10 years. The Madison high-speed line will extend the existing Hiawatha line through Waukesha County with a stop in Brookfield and Oconomowoc, making the trip shorter and more convenient, with increased service frequency. What’s not to like about a frequent, first-class train line with a stop close to your house with free parking?

If that’s not enough, the next planned extension to Minneapolis/St. Paul through Madison with potential stops in Wisconsin Dells, La Crosse, and Eau Claire will help increase the utility of the line.

It was recently reported that UWM is considering the Reed Street Yards as a potential site for the School of Freshwater Sciences.  Although. I still think the lakefront site offers the most prominent location which would have played well with the re-branding of Milwaukee but, the Reed Street Yards site does have many positives that make it a suitable location.  Simply put, if UWM were to build on the Reed Street Yards it could play a significant role in the revitalization of a neighborhood.

Another site under consideration is the existing Great Lakes Water Institute on E. Greenfield Ave., but this site is actually the worst of both goals, branding and revitalization.  The area does need revitalization, but there just isn ‘t much of a neighborhood to revitalize as the site is fairly isolated.  Further, the existing Great Lakes Institute is in reality a former tile factory, not a first-class research facility.

While E. Greenfield Ave. is fairly isolated, the Reed Street Yards is located in the center of an area that has seen significant recent redevelopment efforts, and adding the School of Freshwater Sciences to the mix could build upon these efforts.  This area has a supply of office space, such as the recently redeveloped project at 234 W. Florida St., that could be utilized by start-up research firms.  The area also has affordable rental apartments for students and staff to live in.  In terms of collaboration MMSD’s headquarters is located adjacent to the site, and the city has already put forward a plan that would utilize TIF funding not just to build the needed infrastructure, but also includes financial incentives to help land the first water business.  The biggest concern, and possibly the show stopper for this site, is if the boat access is insufficient, but if that challenge can be surmounted this site could be successful.

As I said in a previous article “The re-development of the Reed Street Yards is the next piece of the puzzle to the revitalization of Walker’s Point,” and building the School of Freshwater Sciences here, not only makes sense, but could be what gets this effort rolling.

The Milwaukee Common Council recently passed a resolution creating a branding task force for Milwaukee, and certainly there is a place for creating a brand for Milwaukee, but the key to creating this brand isn’t a marketing campaign, catch phrase or tag line.  It is putting action and investment behind the vision, because part of building any brand, is in fact the product.  Further, this branding effort shouldn’t simply be an attempt to attract tourists, but it should fit within a larger vision for Milwaukee.

I believe that larger vision should revolve around the fresh coast image and more specifically water.  Many parts of this vision are still in flux, and there’s certainly no guarantee it will be successful, but creating a vision around water can be appealing to tourists, and be an economic driver for our region.  Water research, use, purification and availability will play a critical factor in economic development in the future and Milwaukee should capitalize on this opportunity.

To do this Milwaukee can’t simply convince people that it’s future revolves around water, it needs to prove it.  The city needs to act aggressively by creating policies, such as WAVE water rates, that can be used to recruit water related industry to Milwaukee.  Additionally, a variety of tax credits, TIF, and RACM bonding need to be available to assist in the recruitment of firms. To get the effort moving forward UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences needs to break ground this year, and Marquette’s water law program needs further exposure to attract more students.  Potentially, an annual Milwaukee Water Conference could be created that would bring in firms and researchers from around the world and expose them to what is happening in Milwaukee.  Finally, the city should create water features, albeit fountains or green features that involve water, as these would be visible reminders for tourists to see and connect with Milwaukee.

A city that seems to of, intentionally or not, followed this pattern is Portland, OR.  Portland didn’t just run a marketing campaign and overnight become Bike City USA.  They built bike infrastructure, held biking events, passed policy that supported biking in Portland, and continue to do so, all of which combined to create the brand.  It is only when action and investment fulfills a vision will a brand stick, so hopefully Milwaukee can look at how cities such as Portland have successfully transformed themselves and follow a similar plan to make Milwaukee the world water capital.