Last night the Historic Preservation Commission voted to allow Wave Development, LLC to demolish the historic structures located along Milwaukee St. and Wisconsin Ave. to build a new Marriott Hotel. Under the condition that the project would save and restore the buildings’ facades as part of the new development.

No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Marriott Hotel proposed for downtown Milwaukee has received a lot of attention lately. It parlays questions going far beyond the buildings themselves.

Recently, it was reported that Robert and Michael Levine are once again considering the demolition of historic buildings along Wisconsin Ave. and Broadway, with the hope of landing a hotel development. This proposal draws on the failed “urban renewal” projects of the past. Bulldoze the heart of the city, level the past, and then try, one day, to build new.

Department of City Development staff presented the Downtown Plan Update at the September 15th 2010 Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee meeting. Similar to the City Plan Commission meeting staff presented the overall themes and the eight catalytic projects, which are geared towards increasing density and connectivity throughout downtown, whiles creating a sense of place.

The second phase of the redevelopment of the Milwaukee Intermodal Station will begin construction next month. The $18 million project, which has been in the works since as early as 2005, will be a significant, long overdue, upgrade to the more than forty-year-old train shed.

Bein’ green might not be that easy for Kemit, but for some development projects it seems all to easy “bein’ green.” In fact it seems easy to be Silver, Gold, or even Platinum, “Green,” or in this case LEED certified.

LEED certification takes into account a number of green practices and technologies. These might include the re-use of materials, utilizing renewable energy sources, the use of energy efficient windows and lighting, weatherization, grey water systems, and numerous other items all of which are a great step towards being green. But missing from LEED certification seems to be a key component of actually bein’ green.

The preparation of the Downtown Plan Update has involved various public input sessions, countless hours of community and stakeholder input, resident surveys, the involvement of the business community, and the work of city staff. The process is still ongoing and the presentation before the City Plan Commission for approval was the next step in the process.

This week the City of Milwaukee announced its new downtown plan. The plans were informed by holding multiple public input sessions, numerous stakeholder input meetings, as well as a citywide survey.

Cities in the Midwest will be competing for residents and tourists over the next century. Unfortunately, it will continue to be difficult for Milwaukee to compete with the likes of Chicago in terms of sheer volume. So Milwaukee needs to continue working to distinguish itself.

What is regionalism? Judging by the way it’s often used in Milwaukee, regionalism would appear to be the notion that new projects should be built further and further away from the City of Milwaukee to serve Waukesha County residents. Case in point? The planned engineering school expansion by UW-Milwaukee to be built in western Wauwatosa in what can only be described as “suburban style”. It’s also used as a way to reconcile the flight of businesses from the region’s urban center.

If the goal of regionalism is to create a stronger region, then moving items out of the urban core and building them in a car-only suburban style sprawled across Greater Milwaukee is a sure fire way to fall short.