Santa Rampage 2011

Santa Rampage 2011

Santa Rampage 2011

Santa Rampage 2011

Santa Rampage 2011

• Legislatively Speaking – A Boondoggle indeed By Lena C. Taylor
• Paul Yank Sculpture Sold by County By Pegi Christiansen
• Gee! A Small-Minded Decision By Wisconsin’s DOT By James Rowen
• Regional approach is needed By jsonline.com
• WisDOT: No Bikes On Hoan By Dave Schlabowske
• WisDOT denies Hoan Bridge bicycle and pedestrian path By Jason McDowell
• Rampaging Santas set to cycle a holiday tradition By Tom Held
• Kohl’s could move headquarters to Park East Corridor By fox6now.com
• Bay View’s Sven’s Cafe to open Downtown location March 1 By Andrew Swofford
• Developer tries new financing plan for Pabst senior apartments By Tom Daykin
• Local state aid dropped by almost 10% By Gretchen Schuldt
• Potawatomi biogas plant zoning gains early approval By Sean Ryan
• Redevelopment plan endorsed for Reed Street Yards in Milwaukee By Sean Ryan
• Milwaukee has ‘constructive’ meeting with Northridge owner By Stacy Vogel Davis
• Wisconsin population is skewing older By The BizTimes Daily
• Work begins on Schlitz Park renovations By The BizTimes Daily
• St Paul’s Post-Fordist Future By twin cities sidewalks
• Schlitz Park renovations move forward with $5 million project By Tom Daykin
• Transit’s Not Sucking the Taxpayer Dry — Roads Are By Tanya Snyder
• New Year’s Eve with Miller Lite Free Rides By Milwaukee County Transit System
• Discovery World promotes water economy to high school students By Sean Ryan
• Why write about winter in the city? By Dr. Jeffrey Filipiak
• Metro-area existing home sales rise for a fifth month By Paul Gores
• Milwaukee tax bills sent with incorrect information By Larry Sandler
• Biddle to challenge Hines for Common Council seat By Steve Schultze
• Big changes in store for East Library By Jennifer Kaufman
• Inspiration from the Big Apple By Dave Schlabowske
• A year later, Walker rail blunder looks even worse By Cap Times Editorial
• Spending on train service spurs new round of wrangling in Legislature By Larry Sandler
• Milwaukee Fix: Construction Update By Edible Skyline
• “Cash mob” organized to support Riverwest businesses By fox6now.com
• The Road To Sprawlville, Chapter 52: Interchange To Nowhere Is Top Drawer By James Rowen
• Menomonee Valley Power Plant public hearing Monday By Eddee Daniel

Beerline B Apartments

Beerline B Apartments

1910 on Water

1910 on Water

The Moderne

The Moderne

As the US economy continued its slow recovery from the Great Recession, Milwaukee was left with a couple of failed development projects to complete, a changing real estate market, the opportunity to make small infrastructure changes, and questions about the future of transit.  In 2011, some of these ‘failed projects’ moved towards becoming successes, while the developers in town shifted from condominium development to apartments and hotels.  Small changes to the built environment came in the form of new bike infrastructure, and the conversion of streets to two-way traffic.  Although the Milwaukee County Transit System once again faced budget cuts, there was movement in bringing new modern transit service to Milwaukee in the form of express busing.

First Place on the River, Park Lafayette, and The Residences on Water all ended up in serious financial trouble, and in some cases in drawn out legal battles.  Park Lafayette, which had been considered by many a failure, became a turnaround success under the guidance of the Mandel Group in 2011 as it was converted from high-end condos to luxury apartments, and today it is 93% occupied.  Equally as impressive of a turnaround story is The Point on the River (formally First Place on the River).  The developer had run out of funding, and once the lending bank took over they brought in the  Mandel Group to complete the project.  Ever since, Mandel Group and Garrison Partners have been steadily selling units in the project, and while there were over 45 units available this time last year there are only 11 available for sale today.  The one significant project that has yet to be resolved is The Residences on Water, but signs indicate that the drawn out legal battle surrounding it is coming to a close.

The apartment market saw continued development through a strong reliance on WHEDA tax credits and other forms of  government financing (due to the weakened financial industry).  The construction of the Beerline B Apartments, which is being funded with WHEDA tax credits, nears completion.  Another WHEDA funded project, the 73-unit National City Lofts in Walker’s Point, began accepting tenants in October.  Although Mercy Housing Lakefront’s East Side apartment proposal received various city approvals, and appeared on the verge of moving forward, it failed to obtain WHEDA tax credits to support the funding of the project.  The second phase of The North End development, which will include two buildings and 155-units, gained approval for a $4.6 million loan from the City of Milwaukee and will utilize $26.9 million in WHEDA bonding to construct the project.  The most visible development in 2011 has been the construction of  the 30-story 203-unit apartment building, The Moderne.  It was financed with a $42.4 million loan from the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), a $9.3 million loan by the City of Milwaukee, and $5 million private equity, and expects to be topping off in early 2012.

Hotel development became a hot area of development and controversy in 2011.  The controversial Marriott Hotel project was approved by the city, and in part because of the debate more of the historic buildings than originally proposed will be saved.  Unlike the Marriott project, two other downtown hotels are being developed within historic structures without significant demolition.  A proposal that would develop a Hilton Gardens Hotel within the Historic Loyalty Building in downtown Milwaukee worked through legal issues allowing for construction to get underway.  At The Brewery, Gorman & Company has started the redevelopment of the former brewhouse building into a boutique hotel.

Alterra's On-Street Bicycle Corral

The built environment saw small, but important improvements in 2011.  Wells Street was finally converted to two-way traffic and carmaggedon didn’t follow.  The streetscaping of Broadway in the Historic Third Ward, which will tie the district together, is finally being completed.  Bay View saw Milwaukee’s first raised bike lane built, and on-street bike corrals began popping up on streets around the East Side.  S. 2nd Street, in Walker’s Point, re-opened with the new street redesign, and quickly saw numerous establishments add cafe seating, and a the construction of a new building, the Milwaukee Fix, get underway.

Transit both made steps forward and steps backwards in 2011.  As we believed would happen, cuts to mass transit funding were deep at the state level, and threatened to push MCTS off the cliff.  Although new County Executive Chris Abele worked to maintain transit service by converting some routes to express routes to save money, this still represented a net reduction in service.  At the same time, the Milwaukee Streetcar project was approved by the Common Council on a 10-5 vote this year and has now proceeded into final engineering.  Though as we feared a challenge is being made to Milwaukee’s local control.  Brett Healy, of Oconomowoc, has petitioned the Public Service Commission to rule that, despite local ordinance, the City of Milwaukee must pay the cost to re-locate utilities operating in the public rights-of-way necessitated by the streetcar construction.

In 2011 Milwaukee continued to face a difficult financial and political environment, but managed to move forward on improvements to the built environment, transit, and many significant development projects.

Reed Street Yards Site Plan

At the December 13th, 2011  meeting of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, a zoning change and a proposed Development Incentive Zone (DIZ) overlay were approved to allow for future development of the Reed Street Yards.   The 17-acre property, located between South 6th Street and South 3rd Street, is being redevelopment into a water research and development park in a collaborative effort between City of Milwaukee, the property owner Peter Mead, and General Capital Group.  With this approval the property’s zoning will be changed from Industrial Heavy to Industrial Mixed to allow for a greater range of development opportunities.  The DIZ includes the public connections to the river, the new street configuration,  accommodates phasing in the development, and allows standards to be applied that are compatible with the context of the area.  Additionally, the change creates a requirement for approximately 70% building frontage to the street, 40-foot easement along the river, the requirement of pedestrian access points generally no more than 500 feet apart, and does allow for some interim surface parking on the lots south of the extended Pittsburgh Avenue.

This was just another step in the process toward redeveloping the Reed Street Yards.  The property recently received approval for a tax-incremental financing district that will fund the construction of public infrastructure, including the $3.6 million extension of Pittsburgh Ave., new water mains, new sewer connections, 2,700 feet of riverwalk, an extension of the Hank Aaron State Trail, 300 feet of dock wall that is in need of being repaired, and site remediation.

These changes will now go before the full Common Council for approval.

To see renderings of the possibilities for this site, click here.

• “Cash mob” organized to support Riverwest businesses By fox6now.com
• The Road To Sprawlville, Chapter 52: Interchange To Nowhere Is Top Drawer By James Rowen
• Menomonee Valley Power Plant public hearing Monday By Eddee Daniel
• The Road To Sprawlville, Chapter 51: What Is And What Was By James Rowen
• Milwaukee makes top 20 healthiest housing market list By First Weber Group
• Neighbors oppose parts of a mixed-use proposal on land currently designated for a mail-processing facility. By Mark Schaaf
• DNR land could be sold to raise cash By Jim Massey
• Activity buzzing as Dover School prepares to become The Hive By Bobby Tanzilo
• MARKET SNAPSHOT: Milwaukee Reports a Low Average Vacancy for Midwestern Market By Erika Schnitzer
• Northwestern Mutual buys Joel Lee building for temporary space By Rich Kirchen
• Third Ward ‘lounge’ proposal offers a home for businesses By Rick Romell
• Lawmakers wrangle over train maintenance base By Larry Sandler
• Construction begins on downtown Hilton Garden Inn project By Real Estate Weekly
• Draft bill circulates on raising Milwaukee County sales tax By Sean Ryan
• biomass energy project By Thomas Content
• State reconsiders cost of Milwaukee train facility By Sean Ryan
• NML buying downtown building for temp office space By Tom Daykin
• Ring in a safe 2012 with Miller Lite Free Rides By Renee Lorenz
• LISC names 15 finalists for MANDIs By Peggy Schulz
• Wisconsin GOP Legislators Open To Amtrak Job Creation – - In Chicago By James Rowen
• UWM water school renovations to begin this month By Tom Daykin
• Milwaukee County moves ahead with plans to repair Estabrook Dam By Lee Bergquist
• Barrett to meet Northridge property owner on home turf By Rich Rovito
• Marcus Center parking structure plan endorsed By Sean Ryan
• Third Ward adds new center parking on Broadway By Jeff Sherman
• Potawatomi power plant, Reed Street Yards up for public hearings By Sean Ryan
• Cheese facility leads the way By Nancy Ettenheim
• Freshwater is Milwaukee’s ticket By Joel Brennan
• Downtown Hilton Garden Inn work begins, to open next fall By Tom Daykin
• Commuters get prepared for winter at the Winter Cycling Forum and Dance Party By Jason McDowell
• Amtrak upgrades are still on track in Milwaukee By Larry Sandler
• UWM chancellor to sign deal in China By Karen Herzog
• Apartment demand a bright spot for area developers By Tom Daykin
• Know Milwaukee: Shops of Grand Avenue By Natasha Anderson

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Mariiana Tzotcheva

Urbanized, the third film in Gary Hustwit’s design trilogy, shows the greatness and failures of city planning through vivid cinematography and informed speakers.  The film bounds from Bogota to Detroit and issue to issue giving viewers a background history of urbanism, while introducing the concept as a global issue.

For someone not familiar with the topics involved in urbanization, the film acts as a primer to begin the understanding of cities and urbanism.  It gives an introduction to topics such as sanitation, poverty, livability, transit, bicycling, participatory development, and historic preservation.  Enough of an introduction to spark ideas and conversation, but not enough that it makes the conclusions for the viewer.

For urbanists it covers the typical field while bringing a spotlight on the implications of worldwide urbanization, through stories of and by significant figures in urban planning and architecture.  It touches on the familiar history of Jane Jacobs and walkable mixed-use neighborhoods, and the legacy of Robert Moses’s age of the automobile that comes to an all too sad vivid conclusion in the City of Brasilia.  It then connects urban planning figures of the past to the modern day planning of Jan Gehl, as he eloquently explains the failure of not planning for humans.

In each city that the film stops in, it introduces a new idea or concept expanding the viewers understanding of urbanism.  In Bogota it brings the TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit system to life, and shows how the building of dedicated bicycle facilities have helped connect the urban poor with the center city.  In Detroit the film puts a spotlight on urban agriculture, and how it is helping to turn neighborhoods around.   In Cape Town it exposes the viewer to the depths of poverty and the issues of crime and violence, while showing how a simple urban design project has already effectively reduced crime.   These were just a few of the cities the film stops in, and each city has a lesson and something to learn.

What might be the most valuable merit of this film is that it avoids the pitfalls of many of the films about urbanism, which come across to the viewer as preaching, and can be off putting to non-urbanists.  This film is informative, and although it never seemed to make a conclusion, it sparked conversation and generated ideas.  Well worth watching.

Streetscaping on Broadway

In 1992 the first portion of the Historic Third Ward’s streetscaping plans were completed.  That $3.5 million project included the mid-block parks on Broadway, Catalano Square, 285 pedestrian light poles, and two arches that designate the gateways to the Historic Third Ward.  But this was just that start of the redevelopment of the Historic Third Ward, and at the time the project didn’t complete the streetscaping of Broadway between St. Paul Ave. and Buffalo St., in part because of the operation of a wholesale food producer operating on Broadway.

Today, the gap of streetscaping between St. Paul Ave. and Buffalo St. on Broadway, as per the Historic Third Ward’s Neighborhood Plan, is being completed.   The design will finally tie the street together as one place with a unified design all the way from Catalano Square to the Milwaukee Public Market.  Additionally, the design will slow traffic as it has along the rest of Broadway, and create a more inviting pedestrian environment furthering retail business development in the Historic Third Ward.

• Apartment demand a bright spot for area developers By Tom Daykin
• Know Milwaukee: Shops of Grand Avenue By Natasha Anderson
• Abele’s chief of staff Aldrich leaving in January By Rich Kirchen
• Leadership for Public Transit and Safe Streets: Chris Larson Continue reading on Examiner.com Leadership for Public Transit and Safe Streets: Chris Larson By Charlie Rosenberg
• PSC to rule on who will pay for streetcar utility costs By Larry Sandler and Thomas Content
• Kinnickinnic River naturalization engineering-project in full swing By Michael Timm
• PSC will consider and rule on Milwaukee streetcar utility relocation costs By Sean Ryan
• Developer proposes 275-unit student apartment for Riverwest By Tom Daykin
• Displeasure over lack of jobs prompts demonstration at Talgo By fox6now.com
• Milwaukee 7′s pursuit of W Solar started in March By Sean Ryan
• BRT Insincerity By Martin H. Duke
• BizTimes Real Estate Weekly: Fond du Lac firm to lead construction of downtown Milwaukee Marriott By The BizTimes Daily
• Indiana developers propose $35M apartment project targeting UWM students By Sean Ryan
• Waukesha seeks 25% water rate increase By Don Behm
• Milwaukee’s image will get a face lift By Tom Daykin
• An Uneven Recovery: The Chicago and Milwaukee Labor Markets By Max Lichtenstein and Scott Brave
• Push On For Bike Lane On Hoan Bridge By wisn.com
• 5,000 signatures for Hoan bike lane delivered to DOT By fox6now.com
• Milwaukee… a developing story By Andrew Weiland
• Sen. Larson set to present petitions supporting Hoan Bridge bike path By Tom Held
• Is Wisconsin Slow To Change? By Dave Schlabowske
• Buy Local Gift Fair is Sunday By Jan Uebelherr
• Region turns to clusters as growth strategy By John Schmid
• New Downtown Milwaukee Hotel To Bring Hundreds Of Jobs  By wisn.com
• Construction of East Side apartment building to resume By The BizTimes Daily
• Downtown Milwaukee Marriott set for mid-2013 opening By Sean Ryan
• Downtown Marriott hotel officially under construction By fox6now.com
• Milwaukee 5th Ward office building sold By Sean Ryan
• New senior housing on Becher offers more services By Georgia Pabst
• Change on the horizon at the Westlawn housing project By Candace Romano
• At Pete’s, knowledge, fresh produce are king By Tom Daykin

The Moderne

Milwaukee Fix

Bay View Alterra

Bay View Alterra

Bay View Alterra