Barrett-Lo has made plans for second tower next to The Couture.
Barrett-Lo has made plans for second tower next to The Couture. Back to the full article.
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Such a tease!!!! They don’t even have the first in the ground yet and already discussion of the second? I can’t!
I was thinking a couple months back that one kind of structure downtown Milwaukee doesn’t have is “two towers” with similar design elements–or even more towers (like the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, which has four towers.) It could be a nice addition to the landscape. However, Milwaukee does not have a great track record of getting the second tower built after the first is up. At 1000 North Water, the space over the parking deck at the north end remains undeveloped. The plans were rumored to include a second tower there of up to 30 stories. And, you can clearly see where the US Bank Center (“First Wisconsin Building”) has space reserved at the southern end of the property which never saw its second tower, despite a couple of attempts over the years.
My regret about all the exciting development on the lakefront is that it seems that Milwaukee is trying to design a postcard more so than a downtown. By this I mean two things:
— First, the “backsides” of the most recently constructed buildings–where the elevators shafts abut the outside of the towers–are all facing the rest of the city. The most attractive sides face the lake. University Club Tower, Kilbourn Tower, the new NML Tower and even the Couture. Residents and visitors will only get to see the full effect of most attractive sides of these buildings if they are out on the lake, or buying a postcard of that vista.
— Second, I sure hope that anything Johnson Controls might develop downtown doesn’t happen at the proposed site opened up at the lakefront as the result of freeway redesign. Again, it’s another lakefront postcard moment for Milwaukee but not the most optimal site for the kind of major development hoped for. I’d much rather see them build just west of the US Bank Tower on the two blocks south of Wisconsin Avenue that are already only 60% – 70% surface parking. What a great way to develop into the city and activate more of the East Town streetscape. We can still get some great postcard shots with a 50-story tower there! Sadly, I have my doubts that JC will even keep a major presence in Milwaukee. But, perhaps they’ll build something as a real estate investment, like NML does so well.
Gentrification at its finest
Yeah, I hate when cities gentrify and push out the edgy bus barns. I mean, without that place to store buses or for bus drivers to use the restroom before their shift, we might as well be Bismark, ND.
Now, there’s no there there. Besides, what is the city with the largest consentration of poverty in WI, what is Milwaukee supposed to do with all the property taxes and jobs created by that new development?
If there is no bus barn, was it even worth it all? I can’t look my son in the eye and tell him it was.
Gentrification? It’s the cities central business district. If you can’t build there where can you build?
And just to be clear you have to build. The human population will always increase. I say build every tall tower private money will finance.
Anti gentrification crowd is identical to the “build the wall” Trump crowd. You are no different even tho I suspect the anti gentrification crowd thinks their version of build that wall…go back to your own hood, is inclusive!.
@MidnightSon, that site that was opened up along the lakefront is really the only site they would build on IMO. It’s the only site that will have guaranteed unobstructed lake views forever and it’s perfectly located to make a statement.
@ Tim, hopefully your son will have a more open mind than you do. Urban areas tend to have the largest concentration of poverty regardless of how prosperous the city is, and I will say the old adage of The Grass is Always Greener, is so true. Tim, if you really want to see some real poverty and a city in decay, pop on over to Cleveland or Northeast Ohio. You’ll get a real eye opener, and I guarantee you’ll beeline it back to Milwaukee so fast, and will look and it in such a different way. Milwaukee is clean, friendly, and yes may have it’s problems, but, Cleveland is dirty, unfriendly, decaying, crime ridden, filth in the streets, and a freeway on the lakefront along with an intrusive little airport. Although, maybe you’d like that, what to I know! I guess my complaint about Milwaukee is, stop complaining till you’ve been to the other side of the tracks and actually have something to complain about.
Milwaukee wants to attract people, tourist, I guess its safe to say,then they need to build tourist attractions and stop being seemingly reluctant to building real sky scrapers 50 stories and taller ,the answer to Seattle’s space needle would have been a great build.
Milwaukee should be original in its building architect, and have some new things only found in Milwaukee.
In Chicago this building would have gone up as soon as the papers were signed. And completed in 9 months. Its committee members like the ones in Milwaukee that sit on these approval boards that have no vision on how to proceed in creating a modern city.