UWM

Recently, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Carlos Santiago announced his resignation from UWM to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Hispanic College Fund in Washington, D.C. I imagine our long time readers would expect us to be dancing a jig or throwing quite the party at the possibility that his departure could derail the Wauwatosa expansion, but believe it or not, we’re disappointed he’s leaving UWM. Despite our long disagreement with Chancellor Santiago over the expansion in Wauwatosa, his vision of growth and research, as well as many of the initiatives put forward under his leadership are commendable, worthy, and should move forward.

During his time at UWM, the university has seen more development than under many of the previous administrations. The recent acquisition of the Columbia St Mary’s site literally expands UWM’s main campus, will alleviate some of the parking ‘problem’, could allow for more on-campus housing, and provides for more classroom space. UWM has also been pursuing the construction of new student housing on the East Side, which now will provide university housing for over a thousand students that previously had to be denied because of a bed shortage. The Kenilworth Square Apartments, RiverView Hall, and the soon to be open Cambridge Commons have all made UWM a bigger part of Milwaukee and the community, quite literally.

His vision of turning UWM into a first-rate research university is vital for UWM and for Milwaukee. This vision has lead directly to the creation the School of Public Health and the School of Freshwater Sciences, while also driving the desire to expand the Engineering School. In the short run, it has lead to formation of the Southeastern Wisconsin Energy Technology Research Center, which for the first time brings the colleges of engineering from UWM, MSOE, and Marquette together to collaborate on a significant research initiatives. These universities are already working together on cutting-edge research in areas such as wind turbines, Li-Ion Batteries, and CO2 recycling and sequestration via algae.

The School of Public Health will play a role in improving the health of Milwaukee’s inner-city population, while at the same time helping to revitalize downtown Milwaukee. The choice of locating the program at The Brewery will allow UWM to serve the needs of Milwaukee residents, while keeping the program  within a short bike ride or bus trip to the main campus.

A vastly expanded Engineering School is certainly a key part of helping UWM raise its level of research and will allow it to better collaborate with other institutions and industry partners. Our issue is how and where this expansion should occur, not that it shouldn’t occur. It simply would serve Milwaukee and our region better to build on relationships with MSOE and Marquette as that would create a strong engineering core within the region, while building a stronger urban core. Further, this alignment would allow UWM to stake out more of a niche, possibly within advanced manufacturing, energy technology, or possibly nanotechnology, rather than becoming one of hundreds of schools chasing the biotech dream. That said, the goal of increasing the role, size, and scope of the Engineering School is a laudable one that needs to be successful.

Finally, the proposed School of Freshwater Sciences is truly visionary. The School of Freshwater Sciences has a chance to put Milwaukee back on the map as a world leader. This school is a key part of the M7 Water Council’s goals, which despite detractors claims, might be an area where UWM and Milwaukee could differentiate themselves from their peers. The Water Council is already spurring collaboration between UWM and Marquette, and has received funding by area companies including Badger Meter Inc. and A.O. Smith Corp. Although the idea of splitting the school in to two facilities isn’t ideal, the Reed Street Yards location has already gained interest from American Micro Detection Systems Inc., a water industry company, to possibly locate a facility with up to 300 jobs near the school.

Chancellor Santiago brought about many great changes and set a grand vision for UWM. We can only hope that his efforts to establish the School of Freshwater Sciences, his most game-changing initiative, continue to move forward in his absence.

To meet this need and potentially house some or part of these initiatives UWM’s acquisition of the former Columbia Hospital site is without a doubt a key piece of the expansion puzzle. It is likely that East Side residents will find this distressing and likely oppose any effort by UWM to purchase and develop this site, but expanding on this site makes the most sense for UWM, East Side residents, and the City of Milwaukee.

This site would provide space for the thousands of additional beds that UWM desperately needs, benefit students, alleviate pressures on the neighborhood, and help Milwaukee to thrive. Students living on campus is good for students because they generally receive higher GPA’s, and often graduate in a shorter period of time. Students that live under UWM’s managed housing have more constraints and rules regarding their behavior which should be of benefit to neighbors concerned about student behavior. Another issue that faces East Side residents is a real or perceived lack of parking brought on by commuter students parking on city streets. This issue would be alleviated if UWM could purchase the Columbia Hospital site as it includes a parking garage that would provide students and staff additional parking. Finally, a growing UWM moves Milwaukee forward because it will help to create the critical mass of talent, that is key to growth in today’s economy.

What are the alternatives? Now that private development plans have fallen through it is possible that this site might sit vacant for years, or worse yet being demolished for a surface parking lot. Hopefully neither of these alternatives will play out and UWM will be able to move forward on plans to acquire the former Columbia Hospital.

As review, transit-oriented development according to the Wikipedia is..

A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership.

What is dorm-oriented development?  I propose it’s the increased commercial development in the parcels immediately surrounding the residence hall, or in the residence hall itself.  It comes primarily in the form of retail establishments ranging from restaurants to clothing stores.

Toppers Pizza, founded in Whitewater, fits better in an urban residence hall than a suburban strip mall.

There is no doubt that students bring with them a level of purchasing power.  This is no more clear than in Whitewater, Wisconsin where, despite the town’s small size, numerous retail establishments are spread across the site as a result of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  However, dorm-oriented development, I propose, is more than just the mere presence of numerous auto-centric, retail strip malls.  Dorm-oriented development is the urban assimilation of a residence hall into the neighborhood, and the corresponding commercial hub the residence hall creates.

Dorm-oriented development is the mixed-use development of student residence halls.  As opposed to the traditional student silos that were built in the past 50 year, residence halls built with good urbanist principles appear to be a successful way to generate a successful, largely organic retail center.  Not only are they good starting points for a successful retail center, but they appear also to generate a more fluid assimilation into the urban neighborhood than residence hall designs of the past have achieved.

Dorm-Oriented Development Example

Kenilworth Square Apartments as seen from Prospect Avenue. This side of the facility includes the Peck School of the Arts, American Apparel, and Urban Outfitters.

The best example of dorm-oriented development in Milwaukee is currently UWM’s Kenilworth Square Apartments.  The facility is built to the curb in a pedestrian friendly nature, features numerous street parking stalls as well as curb bump-outs, is in an already urban neighborhood with some-level of established retail presence (Vox, Yield, Alterra), and most-importantly features outward-designed, first-floor retail stalls.

Unlike a shopping mall, Kenilworth Square Apartments didn’t open overnight with numerous retail establishments.  It took time for the stores to develop.  Anytime Fitness, Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, and Toppers Pizza opened separate from each other over the course of a year.

What makes a residence hall different from an apartment or condo development is the very resident of the building.  The resident is the key to the success of dorm-oriented development.  Take for example New Land Enterprises City Green Apartments, the facility has been open for well over a year, if not two, and still has yet to see a single retail tenant (the same goes for New Land’s Sterling Condominiums near UWM’s Kenilworth building).  There are a lot of reasons this could be possible, it’s hard to imagine a building filled with students having empty retail stalls for that long.

601 Lofts, a condominium development on the corner of Ogden and Jackson, has seen its first-floor retail space fill.  That space is however filled with a radically different type of tenant than Kenilworth Square is, a rug store, art/antique store, and an accounting practice.

The purchasing habits of a full-time student are clearly different from that of a working professional, and the first-floor tenants of such buildings appear to reflect that.  Dorm-oriented development generates something much more akin to a shopping mall and more appealing to a younger crowd.

The future site of the Latitude Apartments by Dermond Property Investments.

It should be interesting to watch what type of commercial establishments take hold in the Latitude Apartments, a mixed-use Dermond Properties (originally New Land Enterprises) project under construction across the street from the Kenilworth Square Apartments.  Will they continue to reflect the purchasing habits of college students or will they be more geared to the young professionals who work at the nearby hospital (who the apartments were at one time targeted for)?

New Residence Hall Should Breed More Business

The new UWM residence hall being constructed just down the block from the Kenilworth Square Apartments, should hopefully feed off of the success of Kenilworth Square.  The new hall, dubbed Cambridge Commons, will feature first-floor retail as well as being oriented towards pedestrians. Cambridge Commons, like Kenilworth Square Apartments, is located on a high traffic street (North Avenue for the former, Prospect/Farwell for the the latter).

The Downer Garage is now for lease as a retail establishment.

There is evidence already that dorm-oriented development will happen nearby.  Wangard Properties has purchased the former Downer Garage and is looking to lease the facility to a retail tenant.

Perhaps even bigger, and further out, is the purchase of the Columbia facility on the UWM campus by Doug Weas.  Weas developed the Kenilworth Square Apartments, and any development of the Columbia facility is likely to include private dorms as well as retail.  Look for debate around the possible purchase to heat up in late 2009/early 2010.

Of interest also will be the development of a new dorm for MIAD in the Third Ward.  A final site has yet to be selected for the new residence hall.

Not All New Facilities Successful

Placing the new facility directly across the river from the last UWM dorm to be built, RiverView Residence, also should help draw traffic across the bridge to any retail developments.  The RiverView Residence Hall unfortunately does not feature any first-floor retail, nor is it oriented towards the street in a pedestrian-friendly nature (instead aligning with a dead-end side street).

The dorm was not in a great position to capture retail development in the first place because of the lack of any real retail presence outside of a gas station and Pick ‘N’ Save (which turns its back on North Avenue), but it’s still a shame the facility didn’t have more urban design elements.  When the empty lots to the west of the dorm are developed, UWM (and the UWM Real Estate Foundation) will miss the opportunity to generate any revenue from retail establishments located in the RiverView Residence Hall.

Principles for Future Success

Seeing that the orderly, urban development of retail establishments and residence halls is desirable for the modern urban city, how can such a thing be cultivated?  How can residence halls be constructed so that they are a part of the neighborhood instead of a stand-alone silo? How can a retail center be constructed in a a more organic fashion than a traditional shopping mall and better assimilate into the urban neighborhood?

• The residence hall should be mixed-use to ensure that the area has a constant flow of users, promoting a safe an environment, and most importantly delivering a steady customer base.
• Retail stalls should be built into the first-floor in various sizes to encourage both small restaurants (Toppers) and larger stores (Urban Outfitters).
• The building should be built to the curb and pedestrian-oriented.  Amenities around the building should include streetscaping, curb bump-outs, and bike racks.
• The residence hall should be constructed in an already urban environment.  A residence hall in a cornfield would not generate the desired effects.
• Parking should be available, as well as transit access.  Free parking is non-essential, as Kenilworth Square proves, but ample street parking does help.
• Public or private dorms.  There is no reason why such a development couldn’t work with a private development, such as the 2040 Lofts on Marquette’s campus.

Plans and Drawings
Description
Map

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

OnMilwaukee.com reports that Urban Outfitters will open on the east side of Milwaukee on December 14th. The store is located in the bottom of the Kenilworth Square Apartments (one UWM’s new dorm buildings) on the corner of Prospect and Kenilworth.

This should help give UWM students yet another excuse to avoid driving out to Mayfair Mall and instead walk or ride the included-in-their-tuition bus to yet another developing east side location.