Massive layoffs, extended furloughs, service cuts, significant tax and fee increases all are possibilities in the next year for the City of Milwaukee.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with the gap in the pension fund, a decline in the assessed value of property in the city, and a likely decline in state shared revenue the fiscal picture for the City of Milwaukee doesn’t look so bright.  At today’s Common Council meeting the debate around a snow and ice fee increase and the furloughing of city employees were brought about by this startling economic outlook for the City of Milwaukee.  These efforts are surely just the start of the city’s efforts to create a surplus this year with the goal of propping up next year’s budget.  So it’s time to seriously think about how the City of Milwaukee can find $90 million to plug the hole.  It easy to say layoff the workers and “cut programs,” but the realities of city government shows specific ideas are needed, not blanket talking points.

It’s also likely that the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee Fire Department won’t see big cuts despite representing such a large part of the budget.  Yes, next year Mayor Barrett’s efforts to reduce the number of firefighters will continue, but these cuts will just be one small piece of the puzzle.  Potentially, closing all the libraries could save the city $22 million, which by itself is not enough to plug the budget hole, and definitely isn’t a desirable solution.  City Comptroller, Martin “Wally”Morics , had been requested by the Steering & Rules Committee to look into privatizing the Milwaukee Water Works with the hopes of creating an endowment to prop up the budget, but it appears due to public uproar that this effort has stalled.  Personally, I’d rather not see the Milwaukee Water Works privatized, anyone laid off, or the libraries closed, but to fill the budget hole, solutions are going to be needed, and clearly fixing this problem is going to require a lot of service cuts.

To alleviate next year’s pain the city has started taking actions to create a surplus in this year’s budget.  The two day furlough is an unfortunate but necessary start, but the city must act more aggressively and immediately.  Nobody has the magic bullet solution to the problem, but I’ll offer one small potential savings.  Further, I’m no accountant, and I’m not a real estate developer, but it seems to me that by closing the East Side library, on North Avenue, the city can save money this year, sell what has to be valuable land, and put this land on the tax roles.  It surely is a unfortunate thing to suggest a library closing, but the East Side can afford to be without a library more than some of our less-fortunate, inner-city neighborhoods.  Further, when the economy improves and the budget issues are resolved a new library would be great tenant as part of a mixed-use development, but right now it’s time to save money.  Clearly, this isn’t the magic bullet but as it’s likely all sorts of across the board cuts are coming next year small ideas like this are needed.  What’s yours?

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has had his new police district boundaries approved by the Common Council Public Safety Committee.  The new boundaries will have the most significant affects on the East and South sides of Milwaukee.

A looming issue with the construction of the new UWM dorm on the Hometown site on North Avenue was that it it will sit on the dividing line of the first and fifth districts.  Concerns were raised at the public meetings preceding the approval of the dorm that policing may be an issue in the area.  The new boundaries should eliminate any potential communication issues by placing officers near the new dorm in the same district.

The existing UWM Riverview Residence Hall will be now be in District 5, which will encompass all of the Riverwest, Brewers Hill, and Harambee neighborhoods as well as a few more neighborhoods to the northwest.  While the existing Riverview Residence Hall was originally on the North Avenue dividing line as well, it did not draw the same concerns from neighbors as no one lives south of the dorm until you hit Commerce Street and the Beerline B neighborhood.

Old Districts

New Districts

Larry Sandler at the Journal Sentinel has more information on the South Side redistricting.

It’s certainly good that we value our parks, public places, and the lakefront, so a public debate over the appropriateness of placing UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences on Lake Michigan is worth having, but the downtown lakefront is the right location.

Yes, other sites have been suggested, such as the vacant land near the Milwaukee Water Works purification plant on Lincoln Memorial Drive, the port-owned property near the Lake Express terminal, the parking lots just west of the Henry W. Meier Festival Park, sites near the existing Great Lakes Water Institute, and even the Port of Milwaukee Headquarters, but building the facility on any of these sites won’t give the new school the prominence of place the way the Pieces of Eight location will. Unfortunately, it would just be another example of when Milwaukee does something half right.

The Great Lakes Water Institute has been operating in one form or another since the 70’s, at 600 East Greenfield Avenue, and certainly has been involved in important research, but during that time Milwaukee’s hasn’t become the focal point for water research. Of course there are a lot of factors that have held back the institute from rising to greater prominence including the lack of proper funding, and the need for a graduate level school, but also hiding it away where it isn’t visible, where it isn’t prominent, and where it isn’t integral to Milwaukee and Lake Michigan detracts from its ability to be the symbol of Milwaukee’s commitment to water research.  Locating the School of Freshwater Sciences near the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World right on Lake Michigan will only add to its prominence, and help to insure its place as part of Milwaukee’s new image.

If Milwaukee is to become the water capital of the world, then its leading institution needs prominence and visibility. You might say it needs a postcard location.

To learn more about this proposal and possibly lend your support, the Harbor Commission will be holding a public hearing Thursday May 28th, at 6:00 pm at City Hall Room 301-B, 200 E. Wells St. on this proposal.

“Today I’m a little disappointed in my alma mater,” said Supervisor Lipscomb at the Thursday, May 21st Milwaukee County Board Meeting during the discussion of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s purchase of part of the Milwaukee County Grounds for an engineering school.  As a graduate of UWM’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning his words and actions showed he understood how this proposal flew in the face of the school’s own teachings.

The concept sounds good, build an engineering school and business park close to GE Medical and the Medical College of Wisconsin in an effort to expand UWM’s research in the medical field, and there’s no doubt that some research and jobs will come out of this effort, but the bigger picture is that the continued hollowing out of the urban core isn’t good for UWM, the City of Milwaukee, or the region.  That by design this site will inherently have issues with pedestrian access, transit, and forced auto dependence.  That by developing this site natural habitats will be lost, congestion will be created, and additional pollution will be generated.  That this site would further discourage and disenfranchise minorities and limit their ability to attend the school.

Supervisor Lipscomb wasn’t the only board member to see the bigger picture.  In fact Supervisor Weishan did all he could to improve the deal or slow the process to allow time for further improvements to the agreement.  He offered multiple amendments, one which tried to specify the allowable uses for the purpose of encouraging the development to be more mixed-use in design, and another that would have created a scholarship fund for minorities to attend the engineering school.  Both of these amendments attempted to address some of the big picture issues regarding the proposed school location, but received little support from other members of the county board.  He went on to make it entirely clear as to why he felt other members of the board supported the proposal, stating that he felt “the majority of this board has made up their mind that they just want the money.”

As this proposal has been an topic we’ve felt strongly about we do appreciate that Supervisors Dimitrijevic, Larson, Lipscomb, and Weishan voted against this proposal, and do hope UWM works to provide better transit access to the area, creates a facility that respects the Monarch Trail, expands other programs in the city, and finds a way to diminish the environmental impacts of this development.

As the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors barrel ahead towards Thursday’s vote on the Milwaukee County Ground land sale to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee word comes, according to the Daily Reporter article Main Campus Still in Play for UWM Engineering Building, that UWM’s own planning includes possible development sites for College of Engineering and Applied Science buildings on the East Side campus.  I’ve long suggested a variety of sites downtown and near downtown as better options for expansion than the Wauwatosa site, but expanding on the current campus is of course a logical choice as well.  This site make sense because the issues of the lack of affordable housing, limited access to transit, and the negative environmental impacts of sprawl are alleviated by developing within the urban environment.

That said, these plans, although great and preferred, and confusion to the issue and clearly bring up a series of questions that deserve answers.  Why hasn’t this idea been thoroughly investigated by the UWM?  What exactly is UWM proposing to build on the Milwaukee County Grounds?  What is the rush to close on the land acquisition if these plans are a possibility?  There has been a lot of discussion about collaboration and research within the areas of bio-medical research, but what about computer, chemical, civil, construction, and the numerous other fields of engineering will they be staying on the East Side?  At first UWM proposed the land would be used for the “engineering school,” then it was “just graduate students,” still later “just research,” but at the same time the discussion expanded to include a boutique hotel and restaurant.

It appears the “plan” has gone through significant changes from the beginning until now, and more questions have arisen than have been answered, all of which need to be answered and spelled out clearly for the public prior to any approval or land sale.

In what can only be characterized as a transparent attempt to prop up Milwaukee County’s budget, the Board of Supervisors and County Executive Walker appear poised to push the Milwaukee County Grounds land sale to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee through, despite the concerns of citizens, the City of Milwaukee, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s own staff.  Residents of both Wauwatosa and Milwaukee have spoken out in opposition to this proposal.  The City of Milwaukee formally adopted a resolution opposing this proposal, and according to a recent survey even many members of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s staff oppose this proposal.

So what is the really reason to approval this land sale and move forward?  Why do members of the Milwaukee County Board and County Executive Walker think it’s such a great idea in the face of all of this opposition?   Money.  Money.  Money.  $13.6 Million reasons to be precise.

During a year that saw Supervisors Clark and Coggs fly off to D.C. on the taxpayer credit card, and County Executive Walker preparing to ride off on his taxpayer funded bike ride, the Milwaukee County budget faces a shortfall that forced Milwaukee County to order unpaid furloughs for half of all county employees.  Instead of looking at how this proposal will negatively impact the core of the county, or what it does for the long-run future of the region, while at the same time ignoring the negative impacts to the environment, such as increased pollution, and increased congestion, Milwaukee County looks at it as a way to pay off a couple of bills.  It’s a shame our county services are going to suffer due to a budget shortfall, but using one-time deals to pay off on-going expenses is a concerning one to say the least.

Although, they took more time by utilizing a series of options, in truth the County Board acted similarly on the Palomar and RSC & Associates proposals in the Park East.  Bad deals, with poor results, done in order to prop up the Milwaukee County budget.  This Thursday May 21st at 9:30 AM the County Board of Supervisors will vote on this proposal, and all indications are that it will receive approval, so all I can say is, here we go again.

Yes.  The single most important expansion of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee currently underway is the proposed School of Freshwater Sciences.  We’ve all heard it “water is the new oil.”  It is true, fresh water just might be the key to future growth in Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin, and with 120 water-oriented companies and facilities for five of the eleven largest water companies in the world, not to mention UWM’s existing Great Lakes Water Institute, Milwaukee is poised to become the world leader in this industry.  Not necessarily in the traditional model of simply selling water, but in the research that will help communities efficiently, and cleanly utilize fresh water.  In the research that will allow companies to cost effectively use water and properly return it back to its source.  In the research that will keep our water clean.  How better to protect and preserve Lake Michigan for recreational and public uses, than to have Milwaukee become the leading city for research into proper, clean, and efficient use of fresh water.

Already the world is watching, just recently the U.N. named Milwaukee a Global Compact City, making Milwaukee one of thirteen cities in the world with this designation.  This designation depends on Milwaukee’s commitment to water quality and water research.  Clearly the race is on, and the economic future of Milwaukee will be deeply impacted by the decisions we make today.  The next step for Milwaukee is to build the headquarters for the School of Freshwater Sciences.  Currently, UWM and the M7 Water Council are looking into the former Pieces of Eight site to locate the landmark facility, the window on Milwaukee, the cornerstone of the capital.  Could this facility be located somewhere else as some suggest?  Yes, it could, but this time UWM has picked the right site.  Because image matters.  In the real estate world the phrase “location, location, location,” is an often repeated mantra and when corporate, educational, or political leaders visit Milwaukee to learn about our research efforts the location of this landmark facility will help sell Milwaukee as the water capital.  When potential graduate students visit Milwaukee, this location will help sell them on our city and our university.

We’ve all heard the talk about how Miller Park should have been downtown, and how Milwaukee always seems to not get it “just right”.  Well this is a chance to get the right idea, in the right place, at the right time.

To learn more about the proposal and lend your support, the Harbor Commission will be meeting Friday May 8th, at 8:00 am at the Port Authority, 2323 S. Lincoln Memorial Drive, to hear presentations from UWM and the M7 Water Council.

This past Monday night a public meeting was held to discuss possible streetscape improvements to Downer Avenue and a change in the previously approved plan for Downer Avenue.  The change would replace a proposed medical office building with a small boutique hotel.

The local Business Improvement District (BID) and merchants association have been moving forward on a streetscaping proposal that would use $300,000 of funding from the BID and an additional $300,000 from the Department of City Development to improve the pedestrian experience along Downer Avenue.  Additionally, businesses reached out to Joel Lee, of Van Buren Management, to develop the former Associated Bank location into a small boutique hotel instead of the originally proposed medical office building.  Mike Eitel, representing the area businesses, spoke passionately about the urban environment and how there are trade-offs involved in city life, but these improvements will make the area better for everyone.  He went on to explain that the merchants on Downer Avenue. are “really not at the height of our dynamic growth,” and added, referring to the new hotel proposal, that “I think of it as sort of a way to bring Downer Avenue back.”

Scott Kindness, of Kindness Architecture + Planning, presented the streetscaping plan.  He explained that the plan intends to make the street more conducive to local business and pedestrians.  Specifically the plan would include tripling the size of the tree boxes so trees can flourish and the area around them can be planted, bumping out the sidewalk to create spaces for outdoor cafes near the former Bartolotta and Chancery locations, the use of stamped asphalt in the pedestrian crosswalks, the addition of twenty new bike racks, the replacement of the existing pavers with an updated material, and the burying all the overhead wires along the 2600 block of Downer Avenue.

The preliminary designs for the new hotel were presented by Matt Rinka, of Rinka Chung Architecture Inc. He explained that it would have a 20 stall underground parking garage, and that the hotel would be roughly half the size of a standard hotel.  He added that the materials on the hotel building would include limestone precast panels, granite pieces for some columns, and the restaurant would feature large wooden doors to facilitate cafe dining.

Some questions arose regarding the “lack of parking” in the area and residents feared this would increase the problem.  Matt Rinka attempted to explain that if they built this hotel with a parking spot for each room, essentially overbuilt it, “then we’re designing Bluemound Road,” and that this is an urban area so although parking is always an issue it is expected that not all users of the hotel will drive to it.  He offered a tongue-in-cheek remark that to solve the residents parking concerns by adding more parking stalls “we could make this building taller,” which got a big laugh, but apparently didn’t alleviate the residents concerns.

Joel Lee explained that although financing is not locked in yet, the $5.5 million project is a very manageable level of funding.  He added that the hotel is will be more like an upscale bed and breakfast, and that they have a potential Wisconsin hotel and restaurant operator lined up.  He attempted to summarize saying that “we believe this can get done.”  After a series of questions regarding garbage collection and parking issues he added that “it’s very frustrating and difficult to invest money in the neighborhood that needs it,” because despite the value they attempt to bring to the neighborhood they always face stiff opposition.  He further added that “if you look at the stability of this street it is very weak,” indicating that this new development could help the revitalize the street and local businesses, if it was allowed to move forward.

The topic of Peter Kovac’s litigation against the City of Milwaukee came up and a some clarity was given on the possible outcomes of the litigation.  For example, it does in fact include language asking for the parking structure to be torn down, though it does offer other remedies as well.  It was indicated by Joel Lee that with the lawsuit hanging over the head of the original hotel proposal, no lender is willing to come in and do a flagged hotel.  Interesting enough, Peter Kovac got up and supported the proposed hotel saying “it’s better than the surgery center.”  He was then quick to indicate it is too tall and needs changes so his support came with conditions, but with the outstanding lawsuit it was unexpected.  He went on to say, referring to the garage, “the architecture is all wrong” and that “we’ve proposed a facade change.”

Near the end of the meeting a resident put Alderman Kovac on the spot, asking him if he supported this project.  He responded that it is “my personal opinion is this is a much better use and design than the previous design.”  Although, at times tempers flared on both sides of the lawsuit, a straw poll of the audience reflected general support for the hotel if some adjustments were made.  This proposal is likely to be schedule for the May 18th meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission, with the intention that it would be on the June cycle for approval at the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development meeting.  The goal on the part of the developer and the BID is for both projects to break ground in October of 2009.

Despite the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s efforts with the Center for Sustainability Education (CSE), the hiring of a sustainability coordinator, construction of a green roof on Sandburg Hall, and maintain of the 11.1 acre Downer Woods the leadership at UWM who are pushing to develop an engineering school on the Milwaukee County Grounds seem to be missing the larger point, that there is nothing green about greenfield development.  You can build all the retention ponds and green roofs you want, but greenfield development is inherently not environmentally friendly.  You might even construction a building or two, maybe the proposed boutique hotel, that achieve some level of LEED certification, but understand because of the location and development style it brings with it negative consequences to the environment.

A greenfield is already green, when you develop it you destroy the natural habitats, increase storm water runoff, and significantly encourage, if not require, more automobile use.  In recent years we’ve seen coyotes and deer find there way into urban areas, this happens because as we continue to sprawl outwards more and more natural habitats are eliminated.  In the case of the Milwaukee County Grounds the habitat in question is the landing place of the Monarch Butterfly.  Although, this is not something that impacts me personally, it is important to realize that by displacing this creature we do lose something of value to many people and to the ecosystem as a whole.  It is also obvious just by looking at the massive MMSD retention ponds, which are being constructed on the site, that development of greenfields has a direct impact on the ability of the earth to take in and filter rainwater.  Finally, when a development is placed outside the realm of a walkable community its environmental impacts go far beyond “paving over paradise.”  This is true because it actually encourages people to drive, even if there is a bus stop “across the street.”  When you can’t walk to lunch or to the store, and buildings are surrounding by acres of parking you are truth, required to drive.  If researchers need to “collaborate” with the folks “kitty corner across the freeway,” at GE Medical, they will drive, even if UWM provides an occasional shuttle, because sprawling development insures it is inconvenient to get around any other way.

I don’t believe UWM should be expanding in Wauwatosa, for reasons far beyond being environmentally friendly but one way this project could be a touch more environmentally friendly and truly be about collaboration, not development, would be for this research facility to be built on the parking lots bordering the Medical College of Wisconsin and not on the Milwaukee County Grounds.

To see what could be impacted by UWM’s proposed Engineer School we’ve provided a photo gallery of the Milwaukee County Grounds.

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.