Next Generation Real Estate Inc. recently proposed a $35 million 6-story mixed-use building with 130,000 square feet of class A office space, 270 parking spots, and 17,000 square feet of first floor retail at the southeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Broadway.

There was no file passed at the Milwaukee Common Council, business owners didn’t have to fight city hall to narrow Well St., it wasn’t some anti-car movement, it was just narrowed temporarily for utility work.

As key component of the downtown plan the City of Milwaukee set a goal of returning streets in the downtown area to two-way traffic. The idea is to make a street more pedestrian friendly and more logical for drivers. Making a street two-ways makes a street more convenient, can slow speeding traffic, and allows for more access and routes to be taken. The idea certainly is not to add as many odd quirks and novelties as possible.

Megabus, the no-frills intercity bus company with an intriguing pricing scheme starting at $1, has revised their service schedule between Milwaukee and Chicago. Unfortunately two trips have been eliminated in each direction. One can only assume it’s because of the economy and that January through March has always been a down travel period for Megabus (something they compensate for by giving away 100,000 tickets).

At the December 1st, 2009 meeting of the Milwaukee Common Council the Cooperation and Development Agreement for the Bookends development was sent back to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee. The agreement would of authorized a $3.45 million loan guarantee from the City of Milwaukee to the development team, of New Land Enterprises and Weichman Enterprises, for the Bookends apartment development.

New Land Enterprises and Wiechman Enterprises were seeking a change in zoning and a loan guarantee by the City of Milwaukee for the Bookends North project. The project would be located at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave., the former Edwardo’s Pizza location, and includes 224 luxury apartments, 294 parking spots, and 3,000 square feet of retail space.

New Land Enterprises received unanimous approval at the October 19th meeting of the City Plan Commission. The 19-story building will have 224 residential units, 292 parking spaces, and 3,000 square feet of retail.

The Bookends, proposed by New Land Enterprises, will go before the Milwaukee City Plan Commission on October 19th, 2009 to gain approval of a change in zoning to a detailed plan development. The project, which would be located at E. Kilbourn Avenue and N. Van Buren Street, consists of a 19-story mixed used apartment building with up to 224 dwelling units, a retail component, and five stories of structured parking

Don’t forget that this Thursday is the open house for the Milwaukee Connector Downtown Streetcar plan. The open house runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Zeidler Municipal Building on the corner of Kilbourn Ave and Broadway. There will be short presentations at 3:30 and 6, come and leave a comment on the proposed system.

On Friday, Mayor Barrett unveiled three streetcar routes under study to the attendees of UEDA’s Community Development Summit.

The Mayor walked through the three possible routes and numerous possible future extensions. He broke down how successful systems in cities such as Seattle, Portland, and Tacoma have started with routes similar in length to the proposed for the Milwaukee Streetcar system (2 to 3 miles).