John and Anne Nehring will open Nehring Family Marketplace in a building owned by New Land Enterprises at the intersection of Brady and Water Streets.  At 15,000 square feet the store will be the largest the husband and wife team own.  The location has been the longtime home of Habhegger Wheel & Axle shop.  New Land Enterprises acquired the lot in 2005.  They plan to offer a flower shop, liquor store, and catering service as well as groceries, and hope to be open in late 2009 or early 2010.

The husband and wife team also owns Nehring’s Sendik’s, 4027 N. Oakland Ave., in Shorewood, V. Richards store at 17630 W. Blue Mound Road, Brookfield,  and G. Groppi Food Market, at 1441 S. Russell Ave., in Bay View neighborhood.

The location of the store certainly signals that the Pleasant Street Market plans for the end of Commerce Street in the Beerline neighborhood are on hold.  The development had slotted a grocery store by the Nehring’s as the anchor tenant.  Brewery Works, Inc has not been able to break ground on the project, and it appears the Nehring’s found a space that will allow them to serve the same, if not a bigger market.

The Nehring Family Marketplace will not be the only grocery store in the Van Buren Street corridor.  In fact the north-south corridor will now have three grocery stores within a half-mile stretch.  Metro Market, a 52,000 square-foot upscale super market, Pick ‘N’ Save, a 40,000 square-foot super market, and now Nehring Family Marketplace, a 15,000 square-foot upscale grocery store.  This is before including Glorioso’s on the eastern half of Brady Street, whose owners are suing to complete their plans to expand in a building across the street.

This is  is the densest-populated area in the state of Wisconsin, and all of the existing stores seem to be constantly busy, so it does not appear the addition of another store over-saturates the market.  Furthermore, each store delivers something a little different than the others.

It will be interesting to see what the competition between stores brings for the area.  It should help to continue the positive redevelopment of under-utilized land in the area.

1. Jazz in the Park, it’s back June 4th and despite the drama, will be just like it has been in years past.  River Rhythms starts across the river on June 10th, and Chill on the Hill kicks off June 2nd.

2. Bike racks on buses, they’re coming.

3. The Milwaukee RiverWalk, take a stroll along the RiverWalk where the built environment meets the natural environment.  It’s not just for walking though, eat to your hearts content at Rock Bottom Brewery, the Milwaukee Ale House, or the Water Buffalo (by no means a complete list of RiverWalk eateries).   Lakefront Brewery has a nice RiverWalk segment and they serve beer, check that out.

4. RiverSplash gets the festival season going early, starting on June 5th.  Hopefully there will be a few more street closings this year to calm the crowds.  Seriously, we close way too few streets downtown for events.  If pedestrian overcrowding was a concern, just make the area bigger.

5. The Bastille Days run.  An athletic urbanist’s dream, what other event lets you run through the streets of downtown Milwaukee with only the fear of getting hit by a stroller?  Milwaukee needs more runs in the city.  The lakefront is great, but nothing compares to running through the city streets with 10,000 other people.  North Avenue?  Brady Street?  Westown?  All would be fun.

What did I miss?

Too often we, as Milwaukeeans, are too quick to assume all the good ideas in Milwaukee are trickling up from Chicago.  That Chicago gets the latest trends, fashions, fast food restaurants (see: Sonic), and other soon-to-be-passing fads before we do.

Of course that’s not always the case, with the Quadracci Pavilion being the best example.  You of course know that building better for the world renown architect that designed it, Santiago Calatrava.

There is something else in downtown Milwaukee that we beat Chicago to, the riverwalk.  Chicago has really only been building out a riverwalk system since just before the turn of the millenium, while Milwaukee has been working on such a system since the 1980s.

Chicago is working to expand their system this year, hoping to complete portions near Michigan Avenue by June.

Things aren’t finished in Milwaukee either, this year we should finally see the construction of the segment connecting the Brewer’s Point Apartments with Lakefront Brewery and Trostel Square and a segment with the new construction of The Edge.  The Aloft Hotel will include an accompanying RiverWalk segment as the building rises. With time, we’ll also see a large expansion of the RiverWalk as The North End “Neighborhood by Design” comes together.

Now let’s just get rid of this cold weather, so we can get back to using the RiverWalk.

Just about everyone in Milwaukee is ready for spring, right?  Well in the event that you’re not, we have two pretty impressive videos to share with you that have a lot of snow (and Milwaukee) in them.

One was created by Erik West, and is a composition of tilt-shift photography featuring Milwaukee’s lower east, downtown, and the airport.  Now that’s impressive in itself, but the fact that it was done during a snow storm makes it all the better.  A rare chance to view the city in a completely different way than you normally would, with many shots taken from parking garages in and around downtown.

Fire (Jimmy Edgar Remix) from Erik West on Vimeo.

Hat tip to Mary Louise Schumacher, who linked to the video on her Art City blog.

The second is of the fun that can be had between the Beerline and Riverwest in Kilbourn Park.  Kudos to reader Sam Dodge for putting it together.

Snow Day 2009 from Sam Dodge on Vimeo.

The UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research (CUIR) undertook the first comprehensive study on Milwaukee’s “condo boom” to understand who was actually living in the condos stretching from the northern part of Walker’s Point up to North Avenue on the East Side.

They found a couple really good things from the perspective of an urbanist (or anyone that lives in Milwaukee for that matter).  First, that the condo owners in 88% of the cases are using their condos as their primary residence.  A sign that they’re likely spending and investing their time and money in Milwaukee, and most likely in the very neighborhood in which they reside.  Second, 45% of respondents said location was the most important factor in purchasing their condo.  A great sign that things are working in some of Milwaukee’s densest neighborhoods.

The study also isn’t some fly by night guess at what condo owners might be like, 2,606 unit owners were contacted, and 804 responses were collected.

A couple of other key highlights include that for residents using the condo as their primary residence 45% previously lived in the city of Milwaukee.  That number grows to 65% if you consider all of Milwaukee County.  Nearly 10% of owners are from Waukesha County.  Only 4% of condo owners using their condo as a primary residence previously lived in the Chicago area, but 18% of condo owner’s last primary residence was out of state.

Only 2% of total condo owners live in the Chicago area and don’t don’t use their condo as a primary residence.  Out of all the condo owners that responded, only 4% of condo owners don’t use it as their primary residence and live in the Milwaukee metro area, with almost half of them living in Milwaukee County

In what did they live before?  The study found that 38% lived in apartments, and an equal and opposite 38% lived in single-family homes.

What does the study show?  You can make a lot of assumptions from the study, but you can’t deny that it appears people want to live in Milwaukee.

You can read the entire study yourself at the UWM CUIR website.

Meghan Arnold, one of the many biking santas you may have been lucky to see in downtown on Saturday, has an excellent write-up of the event complete with photos.  The story comes complete with details of a rendevous with the police and enough mentions of Diablos Rojos restaurants to make Mike Eitel blush.  Oh, and there is plenty of discussion of Lakefront Brewery beer.

To be honest, we don’t know exactly. But we do know that they’ve proposed 8 sites, and we’ll break down each one to determine which one we think might be the best. Our best and worst rankings are available at the bottom of the article.

Site #1 - The Prospect Mall
Actual Location: Prospect Avenue between Ivanhoe Place & Kenilworth Place
What’s There Now: Former Prospect Mall, currently empty, along with surface parking lot across Farwell
Note: We have heard that this project would potentially only use the east side of Prospect, the surface parking lot and Qdoba. We are unsure how it would integrate into the currently empty mall. If this is true, it could change our ranking (see bottom of article) of the site.  UPDATE We contacted Boulder Venture to clarify this question but they are unable to comment on the proposal at this time.

Pros

• Close to other dorm (Kenilworth) and close to campus
• On an existing bus route (30)
• Uses a currently unused property
• Would help area businesses by delivering 500 new customers
• Would please students to be close to other students

Cons

• Would create another cluster of students possibly creating more neighborhood backlash

Site #2 - Near Brady Street Site
Actual Location: 1744 N. Farwell Avenue, Southeast Corner of North Farwell Avenue and East Royall Place
What’s There Now: Surface Parking Lot

Pros

• Would deliver 500 new customers to Brady Street area
• Replaces existing surface parking lot
• Close to entertainment for students
• On existing bus route (30)

Cons

• Would be furthest dorm from campus

Site #3 - Near Beerline Site
Actual Location: 1887 N. Water Street, just west of Humboldt Avenue
What’s There Now: Empty Warehouse Building, former home of Pro Graphics Inc

Pros

• It’s near the Good Life which is fun to eat at? (and Wolskis)
• It’s a short walk to Brady Street (although not as close as the other site)
• Next to river

Cons

• Would draw continued opposition from nearby condo owners
• Site could be better capitalized by condo development
• Next door to empty Gallun Tannery (wouldn’t necessarily encourage condo development there)
• Close to an existing transit route (10), but transit route does not go through campus
• Awkward walk to Riverview, despite being just across the river
• Potentially difficult spot for shuttle bus to pick-up/drop-off from.

Site #4 - Hometown Gas Station
Actual Location: 1436 North Avenue
What’s There Now: Abandoned gas station

Pros

• On North Avenue near entertainment district
• On existing transit route (21)
• Inbetween both Riverview and Kenilworth dorms
• Next to river
• Easy for current UWM Shuttle to stop here on route from Riverview

Cons

• Would draw ire of many residents because of Milwaukee River Overlay District due to its spot along river
• Nearby residents would certainly raise a fuss about parking, congestion, regardless if it were true or not.

Site #5 - Humboldt Avenue Site
Actual Location: 2628, 2650, and 2660 North Humboldt Avenue, just south of Center Street
What’s There Now: Collection of buildings

Pros

• On existing bus route that goes downtown, but not to campus (10)
• Next to river
• Would integrate well if Riverview shuttle went up Humboldt, then down Locust to get to campus
• Would help revitalize businesses along Center Street

Cons

• Would draw ire of many residents because of Milwaukee River Overlay District due to its spot along river
• Close, but yet not, to Riverview dorm, awkward walk
• Not a good connection to campus without UWM shuttle
• Would certainly irritate neighbors with noise of freshman students walking to keg parties in the area

Site #6 - Holton Terrace
Actual Location: 2825 N. Holton Street, at the intersection of Holton and Locust
What’s There Now: Green space adjacent to Holton Terrace public housing

Pros

• Would utilize what is currently underutilized land, which long-term may be catalytic to other development along Locust and Holton

Cons

• Perception of being next to public housing facility would be negative, regardless of how safe the facility is.
• Neighborhood would likely reject students and be irritated with their noise
• Not near any retail or entertainment districts

Site #7 - Tracks Tavern and Grille
Actual Location: 1020 E. Locust Street
What’s There Now: Tracks Tavern and Grille, surface parking lots, and a few apartments

Pros

• Would replace surface parking
• Would be near existing new development (Alterra Coffee on Humboldt)
• Would be catalytic to other development near the intersection
• Would integrate well if Riverview shuttle went up Humboldt, then down Locust to get to campus
• Would likely not generate resistant from neighbors
• Connected to campus during school year with bus (60)
• Next to two parks

Cons

• Awkwardly close, but yet separated from main campus
• Not near other entertainment/retail options other than Alterra [there are some bars on locust]
• Next to two parks that are overly big and underlit at night, might not be well used by students at night out of fear

Site #8 - Heinemann’s Commissary
Actual Location: 1300 E Locust Street
What’s There Now: Heinemann’s Commissary located in a small building

Pros

• Would integrate well if Riverview shuttle went up Humboldt, then down Locust to get to campus
• Connected to campus during school year with bus (60)

Cons

• Small lot, tall building
• Would likely draw opposition from residents over Milwaukee River Overlay District despite tall public housing facility next door
• Along busy street
• Close, but awkwardly far from main campus because of long Locust Street bridge
• Would not be positioned well to generate neighboring new development
• Students would be fairly isolated, with longer walks to any retail or entertainment.

Best sites currently for the new UWM freshman dormitory

1. Prospect Mall Site
2. Near Brady Street Site
3. Hometown Site

Worst sites currently for the new UWM freshman dormitory

1. Near Beerline Site
2. Holton Terrance
3. Humboldt Avenue Site

View Larger Map

Kinnickinnic River Spillway
Originally uploaded by Retinal Fetish

Julie Lawrence at OnMilwaukee.com drew my attention to this excellent community development taking place along the Kinnickinnic River on the south side of urban Milwaukee, the Kinnickinnic River Trail. The trail is in the early stages of development and will have a southern terminus at the river and 6th Street (near its intersection with Cleveland St) and at Water St and 1st Street on the northern end.

The trail, while still in its infancy, will hopefully include a restoration of the river to a more natural state with the removal of the concrete channeling.

Like many other developments occurring in Milwaukee (the Riverwalk, Menomonee Valley restoration, and the Beerline neighborhood come to mind), the KK River Trail is just one of many ways in which Milwaukee is learning to embrace its natural assets. The developments are all the more special because they’re actual functional ways to move around the city without a car, which is due in large part to the dense development surrounding the rivers.

Groundwork Milwaukee has provided a PDF with all you could ever want to know about what was discussed in planning for the trail.

I’ll try to learn more over the next few days as to what the actual status of the trail is (it’s a little bit hard to figure out with the information online).

I took the map out of the PDF and put it online as a JPG image in case you wanted to see the proposed route.

Although development within the Beerline corridor has slowed there is still ongoing construction. The Edge which is just now starting to rise out of the ground intends the first phase to be completed by November 2008. The Bluff Homes construction is nearing completion and more than half of the units have been sold. The completion of these developments during this market downturn show promise for the Beeline.

Further in spite on the slowdown the future is still looking up for the Beerline as two condominium developments and additional Riverwalk expansion are still in the works. Specifically the potential developments include the Pleasant Street Market and Riverboat Landing. The most recent public report regarding Pleasant Street Market dated June 30, 2007 indicated it was undergoing final design review and obtaining permits but as of today no development of the site has occurred. The Riverboat Landing will have 67 residential units and two retail units once built. Currently only 14 residential units are under contract and with the broader residential market in a backslide it is likely that at least another 20 units will need to be sold prior to breaking ground. Additionally the design of the Brewers Point Apartments Riverwalk was approved during the September 10, 2007 City Plan Commission meeting and construction should begin soon. The development of the Beerline has been one of Milwaukee’s success stories in recent years and if the potential developments move forward it will be on track for continued growth in the future.

Articles + Reference

Pleasant Street Market
Nehrings are in the market for a new venture
Owners of Upscale Food Stores Plan New Grocery Along River Near Brewers Hill

The Edge
Construction gets under way on riverfront condo project

Links from the Milwaukee-informationsphere

• Mary Louise Schumacher is yet another art person doesn’t think it’s a good idea to build a recognizable landmark that will increase pedestrian traffic in downtown Milwaukee.
• Hofbrauhaus Milwaukee, a proposed German beer hall and restaurant, is likely coming next The Brewery development at the old Pabst brewery in Blue Ribbon Hall after the settlement of a lawsuit involving Brew City Redevelopment LLC with the complex’s former owners, WisPark LLC. The article makes no mention of the existing Old German Beer Hall and how urban Milwaukee is delightfully reinventing itself more in the fashion of a city like Munich, Germany.
• Robert Kern, of Generac fame and fortune, is powering a change in the way the state handles engineering education through his foundation (Kern Family Foundation). Two urban Milwaukee schools are at the center of this in MSOE and Marquette, through the recruitment of Project Lead the Way students form high schools and their participation in KEEN (Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network). Urban Milwaukee would like to applaud the efforts of Robert Kern for his visionary leadership in truly investing in the future of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the entire Fresh Coast economy and education system.
• The Journal Sentinel takes a look at how you can reduce your power consumption and what effects it will have. Absolutely worth your time to read.
• Dave Reid takes a look at the Kane Commons development and gives us a construction update of the Breakwater Condos and The Residences on Water.