New Stoplights on Wells St.

Wasting no time, the Department of Public Works has already began work on the conversion of Wells Street to a two-way street throughout downtown.  In particular, new street lights have gone up at the intersections of Milwaukee Street and Wells Street, and Jefferson Street and Wells Street

The city is evidently moving quickly to insure the street is ready before the Wisconsin Avenue bridge closing, because this two-way conversion will provide better access to multiple businesses in Westown that would otherwise be difficult to access during the closing.  This short-term need is certainly important and was the impetus for the change, but the long-term need is just as significant.

Eliminating this multi-lane, one-way expressway will improve downtown Milwaukee’s pedestrian and retail environment, while also improving access for people driving to their destinations.  As has been seen after the conversion of E. State Street, it will significantly reduce the rampant speeding that occurs regularly on Wells St. which will make the street more comfortable to cross and walk along.  Additionally, two-way streets eliminate the need to endlessly circle the block, while improving accessibility for people unfamiliar with the area.  Further, in conjunction with lower traveling speeds it will improve visibility to businesses along Wells Street making the street more desirable to retail locations, and in turn to pedestrians.  All are good reasons to consider converting the street back to two-ways, and when it’s all put together it is a simple choice, Wells Street can be oriented for speeding and a handful peak travel days or for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and business owners daily use.

Although there is a small possibility the street could revert to one-way travel after the Wisconsin Avenue bridge rebuild completion, it is more likely people will forget it was ever a one-way street.  Much of  State Street, Milwaukee Street, Jackson Street, Van Buren Street and Broadway have been converted to two-way streets in the past twenty years, and all have helped to improve downtown Milwaukee’s built environment, for the pedestrian, business owner, and even the person behind the wheel.  Seeing that none of these streets have been converted back to one-way streets, it is more than likely that Wells Street will have the same success.

First, it’s important to examine what Target typically does in the Milwaukee area, as this should present a good indication of what they would likely do downtown if there were no restrictions.  The three Target’s nearest to downtown are on Miller Park Way, South 27th Street, and Chase Avenue. None are urban in form, in their locations they’re the standard suburban big box retail. The parking lots are the same size of the stores themselves, clearly not something fit for downtown.

South 27th Street, Miller Park Way, and Chase Avenue Targets.

Next, it’s worth looking at what Target has done in other urban locations to give an indication of what the Target-loving urbanist might aspire for Target to build in Milwaukee. To-date Target has always focused on building stores that were at least 125,000 square feet in size, but they recently unveiled the “CityTarget” concept of slightly smaller stores (60,000 to 100,000 square feet) for urban neighborhoods. Unfortunately no detailed plans are available for review of any of the proposed CityTarget’s. But it is worth looking at what has been built though, including stores in Chicago, Seattle, Stamford, Minneapolis, and St. Louis.

Chicago has an urban target located in the South Loop neighborhood. It is blocks from two rapid transit stops, on a bus line, walkable by design, surrounded by develop-able land, and contains no surface parking. It appears remarkably urban given that much of the land around is underdeveloped to-date. It is well-located for the future as the blank walls on the back of the building abut the railroad tracks.

Seattle has a Target located across the street from Northgate Mall. It is connected with a Best Buy and shares a parking garage with the electronics store. It is more walkable, but is surrounded by surface parking on an adjacent parking lot. Other retail spaces are part of the two buildings, making the facility a larger demand generator. UrbanReviewSTL has a good write-up on the development.The space appears more attractive at street-level.

Target built an urban store in Stamford, CT. It is in a multi-story, pedestrian-friendly building that includes an attached parking deck. It is connected to a number of other retail outlets. The building is big and box like, but delivers a far more urban big box store than Target typically builds.

The Target in this aerial view is the building with the round corner. It is walkable, incredibly urban and transit acessible, and located in the core of downtown Minneapolis. It is an outlier though because it is connected to the Target headquarters.

This is a new Target in St. Louis. It is a couple miles from downtown, and located in the heart of a residential neighborhood. It is more urban than the Schucks supermarket across the street, but is still quite suburban in nature. It is setback from the street quite a distant, and features a fair amount of surface parking. It's better than any Target currently in Milwaukee, but not urban enough in design to fit within the character of downtown Milwaukee.

Given a choice between all of the presented targets, it seems clear that the downtown Minneapolis best integrates with the urban fabric it occupies. Would Target build that urban of a store in Milwaukee though? It seems unlikely at this point. If Milwaukee is to land a Target, it would seem best to aspire for the Chicago and Seattle examples, while avoiding the not-quite-suburban-or-urban nature of the new St. Louis Target.

Landing a mixed-use Target with a housing or office component would be the holy grail of urban big-box development, and could theoretically be placed on any vacant parcel as a long-term demand generator. The mix of uses would prevent the building from becoming a black hole in the urban fabric at its off-hours.

For a Target to locate in the Park East, as Bruce Westling has proposed, it would need to be a pedestrian-friendly, multi-story building to comply with the Park East Redevelopment Plan. A Target in the Park East is an idea worth supporting, but only if it is a mixed-use building and works to eliminate the blank walls that plague big box stores. While the Park East Redevelopment Plan is about to be amended for the creation of the MSOE Parking Structure, it would be foolish to further amend it to allow a big-box store to be constructed adjacent to proposed parking structure that did not comply with the design guidelines of the plan.

A mixed-use Target faces an uphill battle though because of the currently diminished strength of Milwaukee’s downtown condominium, office, and retail markets. Furthermore there are a number of vacant parcels available for development. Putting together a mixed-use building for Target is going to be complex, and it seems unlikely that any developer would go through with it if they didn’t have to. RSC & Associates had discussions with Target about locating in a mixed-use development in their Park East parcel, but their parcel remains closer to an urban farm than a mixed-use building (with no public indications of that changing anytime soon). A proposal by Ghazi Company for 4th and Wisconsin could have included a large retail anchor as well, but that was a victim of the economic downturn.

If Milwaukee gets a Target downtown in the near future, it’s likely going to come in the form of a single-use building.

Where would a single-use Target fit well? Given that it would likely have a number of blank walls, and not-be a 24 hour demand generator it makes the most since to put it on the fringe of downtown where it would abut another blank wall. It would work even better if it could take advantage of existing parking assets. Given those constraints, a single-use building to house Target (or even Wal-Mart which is rolling out smaller urban stores itself) would best fit near Interstate 794 in Westown.

If Target were to locate on any of the surface lots near Interstate 794, it could be connected to Grand Avenue to breathe new life into the facility and share the parking garage.

The potential store should still be designed in a pedestrian-friendly nature for the sides of the building away from the Interstate or an alley, but allowing the building to have a few largely blank walls would reduce design costs and constraints making it more likely to actually happen should Target or another big-box retailer decide to open here.

A Target would be a welcome addition to downtown Milwaukee, but only in the right-form or location.

Milwaukee’s most densely populated neighborhoods have shown that they can support a number of these small health clubs. The East Side has a Snap Fitness and an Anytime Fitness (within a couple blocks of each other on Farwell Avenue). The Historic Third Ward has a Snap Fitness near it’s southern tip. Bay View has a Snap Fitness as well on Kinnickinnic Avenue. Just north of the East Side, there is an Anytime Fitness on Oakland Avenue near Capitol Drive.

These no-frills, 24-hour gyms contribute greatly to the urban environment. They occupy street-level retail stalls of a couple thousand square-feet each. The gyms don’t require much, if any parking. They’re open and well-lit 24-hours a day providing a constant use generator  that generates activity in the neighborhood and delivers safety by placing “eyes on the street.” The gyms also encourage healthier lifestyles by area residents.

Informal observation of the current assortment of 24-hour gyms in Milwaukee indicates that the clubs see their highest traffic after people return home from their 9-5 jobs. The gyms are packed with treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, weight lifting equipment, tanning beds (depending on the gym), and other assorted athletic equipment.

Could downtown use one of these use generators? Given the amount of empty storefronts, the answer is clearly yes. A 24-hour gym could utilize an empty storefront or two, generating traffic that would increase the safety and vitality of the area. It would also serve as an amenity to encourage more downtown housing and office tenants.

The bigger question is, could downtown Milwaukee support a no-frills, 24-hour gym? The answer likely is, it depends. Given the lack of amenities a Snap Fitness or Anytime Fitness provides, it’s unlikely they would poach customers from one of the downtown full-service gyms based on a value proposition based around a single gym.

What a downtown 24-hour gym can offer though is shared membership with the other family of facilities throughout the region. If a Snap Fitness opens downtown, existing Snap Fitness members will be able to access it at no additional charge. For downtown employees that are already Snap Fitness members, this will provide a mid-day workout opportunity. It also may encourage additional members to sign-up. Yes, all of the other downtown gyms previously mentioned offer this service, but none have the number of facilities that Snap or Anytime have.

The additional members alone that are encouraged to sign-up because of an additional gym close to their place of employment likely wouldn’t be enough to keep a 24-hour gym in business though. The gym would need to be well-located to take advantage of the existing downtown population. A location north of Wisconsin Avenue in East Town would be desirable to draw in the existing downtown population, especially those without in-building workout rooms.

If the right location is chosen, a 24-hour gym should have no problem working in downtown Milwaukee. Because of the relative lack of amenities (swimming pool, actual running track, basketball court, parking) a Snap or Anytime would likely not compete for many customers with one of the existing gyms.

Lakefront Gateway

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.

Alderman Wade raised a few questions pertinent to the plans catalytic projects.  In particular he asked how the plan would address the lack of a positive downtown gateway experience, and whether or not the city had weighed in on what to do with the O’Donnell Parking Garage.

Responding to Alderman Wade’s questions, Rocky Marcoux, Department of City Development Commissioner, explained that “the city has not weighed in officially” regarding the parking garage, but then spoke at length regarding the lakefront catalytic project saying the area near the garage, specifically the entrance way to the lakefront from the Hoan Bridge, is “a really disjointed presence.” He added that “we should be looking at the potential relocation of the bus terminal,” and emphasized the importance of this project stating that this connection to the lakefront attraction is “the piece that’s missing.”

Alderman Murphy brought up the role of public art and its role in the plan. Greg Patin, City of Milwaukee Planning and Development Manager, responded saying it is an “integral part”, and that “we see that as one of the things we weave together.”

Pat O’Brien, President of the Milwaukee Development Corporation and the President of the M7, praised the city’s work on the plan, but raised some items.  He warned that the plan should focus development on the existing catalytic projects leftover from the previous plan, including the Pabst Brewery and the Park East.  Additionally he asserted that the city should be careful not to destabilize existing downtown projects, and that density is an important goal, but the projects should be prioritized. When asked by Alderman Murphy if his organization expects or want direct subsidies for projects he responded “that would be a good thing.”

The plan was passed unanimously by the committee and will now go before the Common Council.

More details on the plan can be found here.

Cincinnati's Planned Freeway Cap Park

For cost reasons, it’s most efficient to cover a trenched freeway rather than to replace an elevated freeway with a tunnel (as Boston did). In Dallas construction of a five-acre park over a trenched freeway (Woodall Rodgers Freeway) will connect downtown Dallas with the thriving Uptown neighborhood. The connection will be further enhanced with the expansion of the M-Line Streetcar through the park.

In 1976 Seattle completed Freeway Park, a 5.2 acre park that covered part of their newly completed freeway. The park has recently been reinvented following a 2002 murder and a number of other crimes. The park is adjacent to the city’s convention center in the heart of the city. Phoenix has a tunneled Interstate 10 and built a park on top (Margaret T. Hance Park).

A number of other cities have plans in place to cap freeways. Cincinnati has pilings in place to build a park over Fort Washington Way that would connect downtown with their redeveloping riverfront (UrbanCincy review of the proposal). The Los Angeles area has a number of plans in various states of completion to cap freeways everywhere from downtown to Hollywood. Oak Park, IL has studied capping the Eisenhower Expressway. St. Louis has a design competition underway to redevelop the grounds around the Gateway Arch, with a number of the designers recommending capping the freeway, and the City to River movement recommending replacing the freeway with a boulevard.

A Freeway Cap Park in Milwaukee

A cap over Interstate 43? It's an idea that's happening elsewhere in the country.

How could a freeway cap be utilized in Milwaukee? The most logical spot to build one is north of the Marquette Interchange over Interstate 43 connecting Westown and Avenues West. It could stretch as far north as the Winnebago Street bridge.

The benefits? A freeway cap park would finally make Marquette University feel like it’s part of downtown, instead of just outside of it. This might cause future Marquette student housing (be it built by the university or private interests) to be built in Westown. If the park cap was built far enough north, it’s possible that The Brewery redevelopment might cause a positive spillover effect onto the neighborhood west of it that’s currently underutilized. It also may encourage may infill development in the eastern portions of Avenues West as the park would eliminate the gorge that currently separates the neighborhood from downtown.

Taking the pessimistic viewpoint, a Interstate 43 freeway cap park might not produce much benefit for a number of reasons though. For one, they’re really expensive  to build (~$500 square-foot) so the city would need to recoup a lot of value from new development. Unfortunately, despite the park likely being an attractive space, there isn’t a whole lot of land for development in the area. The Milwaukee County Courthouse consumes much of the east side I-43 as it traverses downtown, drastically limiting the amount of higher value land for redevelopment. The land that isn’t the Courthouse east of the freeway is park land that is already underutilized that likely couldn’t be redeveloped because of it’s proximity to the courthouse.

On the west side of I-43 there is likewise a shortage of land for redevelopment. Aurora Sinai Medical Center occupies most of the land. The parcel north of the medical center that could be redeveloped is unfortunately located just across the potential park from the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (more commonly, “the jail”) handicapping it’s value.

Outside of the area where the capped park could be built, there is likely too much available land in downtown Milwaukee over the next 10 years to effectively return value on the park. The Park East Freeway removal has left a lot of land in county hands, which they’ve been unsuccessful in selling. The Milwaukee Intermodal Station has generated more demand in that area, along with the planned Milwaukee Streetcar and potential Post Office relocation, that’s a lot of land that is set to become available soon. The recently unveiled Downtown Plan also plans for more development near the lakefront and redeveloping MacArthur Square to include potential development sites.

There would be a large amount of value to be captured if the elevated Interstate 794 was to be removed or lowered east of the river, but the lack of political will to do anything other than redeck the Hoan Bridge appears to have doomed any discussion of that issue.

Cities like Dallas and Cincinnati seem poised to capture a lot of value with the cap parks, but they’re using them to connect two thriving neighborhoods. Avenues West, despite a highly laudable continued series of investments by Marquette is not as strong as Uptown in Dallas. Avenues West and Westown will be stronger in the future, and at that point there will be more value to capture with a park to bridge the gap, but until then it would be wise for the focus to be on infill development.

While there are benefits to building the freeway cap park, ultimately Milwaukee is best to invest elsewhere at this time. Building a freeway cap park will likely someday be a good idea, but it doesn’t seem economically feasible in the next 10 to 20 years. Investing and improving connection tools (the Streetcar, the Riverwalk) as well as generating more infill development in the areas outlined by the Downtown Plan appear to be the most promising way for the city to generate a solid return-on-investment with new development.

Chicago's newest piece of large-scale public art.

For a city that’s displayed to the world a giant bean, 25-foot tall American Gothic statue, and a massive Picasso statue, a three-story tall eyeball should really come as no surprise. Upon a viewer’s first impression the detail of the piece  seem almost overwhelming. The EYE appears quite realistic with red veins on all sides. From across the street, or when attempting to push the piece over, the EYE appears incredibly lifelike. Thankfully it does not blink.

Unveiled July 7th, the EYE was designed by Tony Tasset and fabricated in Sparta, Wisconsin. As is par for the course with public art, someone must dismiss it by claiming it’s barely art. In this case it’s urbanist author James Howard Kunstler, who has named it his Eyesore of the Month for August 2010. The EYE will keep a watch on State Street shoppers until October. After that it’s fate is unknown, but given Illinois’s track record it might be wise to use it to keep track of the Governor’s office.

Large pieces of public art like the EYE are a breath of fresh air in large cities. They’re often capable of evoking a sense of place on their own. When the right location is selected, a piece of public art redefines the space it occupies. In this case Pritzker Park, a fairly sizable pocket park within the Loop, has been transformed into a destination.

When it comes to large-scale public art, Chicago does it right. Big pieces of art, many of which invite controversy, encourage people by the thousands to go see them. Even if they’re critically-panned, Chicago’s public art installations create a sense of place and make you want to go see them.

Milwaukee has made some inroads on using public art. The controversial orange sculpture The Calling helps define the eastern edge of Wisconsin Avenue and serves as a gateway O’Donnell Park and Milwaukee Art Museum (which makes plenty of a statement on its own). Without the large sculpture, O’Donnell Park is nearly a surface parking lot, a massive piece of concrete. With the orange sunburst it’s at least a defined place, a mildly inviting pedestrian pass-through to the lakefront from downtown.

Coming in 2011 (and almost not at all), Janet Zweig’s Pedestrian Drama flip-sign animation kiosks coming to Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Avenue  will certainly make Wisconsin Avenue a bit more intriguing to walk down. The Milwaukee Riverwalk is adorned with jewelry and the Bronze Fonz (which despite criticism sees a steady stream of tourists).

Milwaukee would be wise to look to take advantage of large-scale public art with some of its urban parks. There are two well-located urban parks that would likely benefit the most, Cathedral Square and Pere Marquette.

Pere Marquette has the permanent gazebo, which functions well as a band shell and wedding photo opportunity spot. Beyond that though, the gazebo doesn’t draw many people into the park.

Cathedral Square has a great location, well-defined street wall surrounding it, and a layout that doesn’t make any sense at all based on park use. During the summer the park’s fountain is entirely covered by a stage for the well-attended Jazz in the Park. During the winter the fountain is turned off as the park is covered in snow and holiday lights. The holiday lights make the park a well-lit destination in the winter, but in the summer the park doesn’t encourage anyone to walk through it with the exception of one week. That one is Bastille Days, where MSOE’s miniature Eiffel Tower introduces a welcoming north anchor to the park and the roads are closed to traffic all around the park. Switching the stage location to the north end of the park would allow the fountain to return to summer operation, encourage more pedestrian activity, and open up the south end of the park for temporary art installations that invite more people into the area.

To take full advantage of public art, Milwaukee needs to start thinking bigger.

Please remember to tip your servers, as food heaven for you is frequently food hell for them.

Where will you eat?

Participating Restaurants

* denotes $30 dinner

• Benihana
• Bistro 333
• Buca di Beppo
• Butch’s Old Casino Steak House
• Cafe Calatrava
• Cafe at the Pfister
• Capital Grille*
• Charro Tacos & Tequila
• Club Charlies
• Coquette Cafe
• Eagan’s On Water
• Indulge
• Joey Buona’s Restaurant
• Karl Ratzsch’s
• Kil@wat
• Knick
• Libiamo
• Louise’s
• Mader’s*
• Mason Street Grill*
• Milwaukee ChopHouse*
• Mi•Key’s*
• Molly Cool’s Seafood Tavern*
• Osteria del Mondo*
• Palms Bistro*
• Red Accordion
• RipTide Seafood Bar & Grill
• Riverfront Pizzeria
• Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
• Sabor*
• Sake Tumi
• Swig
• Third Ward Caffe*
• Tulip
• Umami Moto*
• Ward’s House of Prime*
• Water Buffalo
• Zarletti

The windows are step in the right direction, but good urban form will be found with the inclusion of restaurants and bars that serve both those inside and out.

The Frontier Airlines Center performs an important function for the Milwaukee region as a whole, bringing thousands of people to Milwaukee for conventions both big and small. It helps inject life into downtown by filling hotel rooms, restaurants, and bars. The convention center building itself though lacks that vitality. Despite being centrally located, it does not add to the fabric of downtown.  Thankfully any future expansion can improve not only the amount of available floor-space, but the building’s ability to function as a 365-days-a-year facility for both convention goers and downtown residents, workers, and visitors.

Compared to many of its peers, the facility formerly known as the Midwest Airlines Center is more attractive from the street. The building has plenty of windows that are welcoming to those on the street and inside.  And although one former architecture critic finds the design elements that adorn the outside  “Disneyesque”, they are a welcome improvement over the standard suburban shopping mall style of many convention centers.

The facility is also better located than many of its peers, occupying almost two whole city blocks on the west side of downtown. It’s near the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, the current hub for Amtrak and inter-city bus lines in Milwaukee, and the future home of a high speed rail line connecting Milwaukee with the rest of the Midwest. The proposed streetcar line would stop at the facility as well. It’s also centrally located between numerous hotels. Many of Milwaukee’s best amenities are within reach of the center as well, with the Riverwalk, Pabst and Riverside Theaters, Bradley Center within a stone’s throw, and the Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World, and lakefront a little bit further to the East. There are more bars and restaurants within walking distance than one could visit in a weekend. Most importantly for arrivals and departures, the airport is a cheap shuttle ride away. Try finding anything to do near the US’s largest convention enter, McCormick Place in Chicago, anything outside of drinking at a hotel bar is a cab ride away. The Frontier Airlines Center is very well-located, but with the location comes responsibility to the urban fabric, and it’s there that the facility drops the ball.

The Frontier Airlines Center fails to activate the street in a way that an urban building on its scale needs to. The building avoids committing the urban design sin of having windowless walls, but the windows only go so far. They make the building attractive from afar, but fail to encourage pedestrian activity around them in a way that an occupied commercial stall does. Paired with the massive surface parking lot across the street, the facility effectively functions as a gap in the Wisconsin Ave corridor. That’s a problem that can be overcome by infill development on the surface parking lot across the street. A bigger problem (and in-turn, opportunity) exists on the north side of the facility.

The convention center turns its back on Kilbourn Avenue. This could change under "Phase III."

The building turns its back on Kilbourn Avenue, the street that should be Milwaukee’s grandest boulevard. The facility is significantly set back from the boulevard, with the space between occupied by a large surface parking lot (walkability’s greatest challenge). The surface parking lot occupies the space that a “phase III” expansion of the convention center would occupy. The parking lot does not add any value to the neighborhood, especially when it’s empty. It is in this way that the convention center detracts from the walkability of the area, instead of enhancing it by providing every-day destinations and eyes on the street.

If a “phase III” expansion of the Frontier Airlines Center is to happen, it should focus on making the facility an integral part of downtown at the street level, instead of operating as a silo in the city.

Any addition should go beyond simply increasing the amount of available convention hall space. The most important of which is to build a solid street-level presence on Kilbourn Avenue that features commercial establishments that face both into the center and out onto the street, creating a 365-day-a-year revenue stream for the facility and stitching together the urban fabric in Westown. Targeted businesses for the first floor stalls should include national chain bar and restaurants, as they are businesses likely to draw out convention goers, and their expense accounts, as well as businesses that are likely to pay a higher premium for rent. A large scale addition should also rethink all four sides of the building as additional commercial stalls could be located throughout the facility including along 4th and 6th Streets to further enhance the facility and neighborhood.

A hotel could also be added to the physical footprint of the complex itself, emerging above the Kilbourn Avenue side of the facility. It need not be the preeminent hotel for convention goers (to avoid drawing the ire of the owners of the skywalk-connected Hilton and Hyatt), but still serve as an available space downtown that increases activity in the area 365-days-a-year.

From an economic perspective, adding retail stalls and a hotel would add revenue streams to the Wisconsin Center District’s operating budget. The additions are not simply an added cost of doing business in an urban area, but instead a reliable way for the center to generate more revenue. If the facility can draw revenue every day of the year, it can potentially more competitively bid for conferences.

From a design perspective, wrapping the Kilbourn Avenue side in commercial stalls and a hotel not only will activate the street, but will also hide the big-box convention space. This would serve to provide the benefits of a convention center, namely the visitors, while at the same time retaining the street-level variety that makes urban areas inviting in the first place. Generating more activity around the convention center blocks will only serve to increase traffic throughout the rest of Westown.

Weaving the convention center more tightly into the urban fabric of Westown will enhance the desirability of the entire neighborhood.

Your thoughts?

The arenas as they would be aligned in the assumed future world.

US Cellular Arena

The US Cellular Arena, previously known as the MECCA, would be the oldest of the three arenas. Seating a max of 12,700 people, the arena is also the smallest of the three. It’s smaller size allows it to host mid-sized events with ease though, including tenants such as the UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team and Milwaukee Wave. Compared to the Bradley Center it is severely lacking in amenities, with the concourse definitely showing the building’s age with bathrooms off the main-level and limited concession areas. The arena also lacks luxury boxes or any sort of club. It lacks an attached parking garage, but is adjacent to many. It posses a smaller footprint than the Bradley Center, is located directly to the east of the Milwaukee Theatre, and is across the street from what in our future world is known as the Frontier Airlines Center. Along with the Midwest/Frontier Airlines Center and Milwaukee Theatre it is operated by the Wisconsin Center District.

A recently floated idea of an on-campus arena for UWM would lower the utilization of the US Cellular Arena dramatically, but the leave of absence that UWM placed Athletic Director George Koonce on shortly after the idea was announced seems to indicate that egg isn’t about to hatch. It’s also possible that, with or without UWM calling “The Cell” home, the Milwaukee Admirals still might find their way back to the stadium they once called home, as might the Arena Football League’s Milwaukee Iron.

Even with a new arena in the neighborhood, the US Cellular Arena seems poised for business as usual, if not growth.

Bradley Center

The Bradley Center, a gift to the state from Jane Petitt in memory of her father Harry Lynde Bradley, it seats a maximum of 18,600 people for basketball. With sight lines built for hockey (the Petitt’s tried to land an NHL team in Milwaukee), the stadium may still be an ideal home for the Milwaukee Admirals even after a new stadium is built. The Admirals, however, rarely require use of the upper seating bowl, similar to the arena football team, the Milwaukee Iron. Keeping a stadium to use half its capacity seems extremely unlikely. It seems most likely that the Admirals would be forced to move into either the new stadium or their previously mentioned old home. The Bradley Center, despite drawing over 2 million attendees to over 150 events a year, would likely see the least use in a future with a new arena.

Is it possible that only the Bucks would move to a new arena and everyone else would stay at “the Fortress on Fourth”? It’s possible, but it’s unlikely. The hockey sight lines and lacking amenities (stadium restaurant(s), more clubs) make the Bradley Center unattractive to Marquette as well when a new venue is available. Presumably entertainers will play where they can make the most money, and it seems that a new arena should be able to out-earn an old arena for a host of reasons including acoustic quality and amenities.

Could the Bradley Center land a new tenant if a new arena opens? UWM seems unlikely to move their basketball program to a bigger arena, as they don’t routinely push the capacity of the US Cellular Arena. The same goes for the Milwaukee Wave.

Would an NHL team move to Milwaukee to become the primary tenant at the Bradley Center? That seems extremely unlikely, despite the fact that there are multiple teams in the NHL either in dire financial straits or actively looking to move (Phoenix Coyotes being first on the list). The biggest deterrent is that multiple studies have now shown Milwaukee to be overextended when it comes to supporting professional sports, the most recent coming from Bizjournals. The second biggest deterrent will be the fact that a team is unlikely to move to a market where there is a 25+ year old stadium with known revenue-generating deficiencies. Even if the Bucks were to leave Milwaukee, it’s hard to see a NHL team coming.

The Bradley Center does have some positives going for it. The state of Wisconsin, the stadium’s owner, recently committed to a two-year capital project to modernize the arena with $5 million in funding that will go towards a $23 million renovation. The project will ultimately include replacing seat cushions (the same ones are in place since the building opened), upgrading the HVAC system, replacing the ice rink system, roof repairs, and other improvements. The most visible improvement from the project might be the new scoreboard that will be put in place next year, replacing the horribly out-dated one the arena currently has. The new scoreboard is something that would likely be moved to a new arena when one is ultimately built. it’s unclear how many of the renovations will actually happen before planning for a new stadium becomes a big issue.

Redevelopment Options

The two existing arenas.

Supposing either building was to be demolished, what could be gained from the land they occupy?

The Bradley Center has a much bigger footprint than the US Cellular Arena, and therefore provides a much greater opportunity (although the Park East project has shown having lots of available land might not be the best short-term blessing). A large infill project could be undertaken to develop an urban, mixed-use neighborhood between the two arenas, similar in scale to what the Mandel Group is doing with The North End or what happened at Bayshore Town Center. A single-use retail project could also happen with shops, restaurants, and bars built on the former Bradley Center land, this seems far less desirable from an urban planning standpoint of trying to make a more active downtown. Or the land could go the way most of County Stadium did and simply become surface parking, but that seems extremely undesirable.

The US Cellular Arena land could be redeveloped, although the scale of the redevelopment is much smaller. The smaller scale could mean the land is redeveloped faster (much as the City’s, as opposed to the County’s, parcels were in the Park East). First-floor commercial space is a given in that location, but what goes above it is far from certain. It’s unlikely top-tier Class A office space will go on that site, nor would it make sense to put simply a parking garage in (unless another major redevelopment like the Journal Sentinel parking lot and buildings happened). Given the constraints of the site, it seems more likely that a few moderate sized apartment buildings would go in with the commercial spaces.

Final Thoughts

When all is said and done and a new arena is in place, it appears to make the most sense to demolish and redevelop the Bradley Center. If left standing, the arena would become a black hole downtown, with quite possibly zero tenants. The arena, despite being 35+ years newer than the US Cellular Arena, is near or at the end of its economically viable life. It was built to serve an NHL team that never came, and lacks the quality seating and amenities that its peers like the Conseco Fieldhouse, Target Center, and United Center possess. Even with renovations it will be a dated arena. The 60-year-old US Cellular Arena on the other hand continues to be a viable home for an indoor soccer team and mid-major college basketball team, even if a new arena were to be built. Small improvements could go a long way to keeping the US Cellular Arena economically viable for medium-sized tenants for the foreseeable future.

Bring on the Rockwell Automation Arena.

A view of the atrium that runs the length of Cleveland's the Galleria at Erieview.

Could indoor gardens be in store for The Shops of Grand Avenue future? It could happen if the mall follows in the steps of a similar mall in downtown Cleveland, the Galleria at Erieview.

The Galleria at Erieview implemented an indoor garden, dubbed Gardens Under Glass, complete with a hydroponic system in empty space in the urban mall’s atrium. Fueled by natural light, mall marketing director Vicky Poole and Artist Review Today manager Jack Hamilton (a mall tenant) have created a greenhouse thanks to a $30,000 grant from Cleveland’s Civic Innovation Lab. The pair see it as a catalyst for the mall, hoping to attract those interested in learning more and consuming the products of the gardens and other sustainable stores.

How could this idea be implemented at Grand Avenue Mall in Milwaukee? The Plankinton Arcade portion of the mall appears to have the highest retail vacancy rate and operates right now largely as a pass-through area along the skywalk system between the East Town office tours and the food court. It also features an atrium the length of the property that exposes two stories to sunlight. The opportunity cost of utilizing that space certainly seems low at this point. Making the largely vacant Plankinton Arcade more attractive through the installation of garden beds also might serve to encourage more traffic to the mall’s existing businesses.

A trial on a scale this small ($30,000) appears to be a no-brainer for Grand Avenue owner’s Ashkenazy Acquisitions Corp, especially compared to past suggestions of ours.

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).

The public is invited to attend an open house to review and comment on the proposed routes on October 8th, 2009 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Zeidler Municipal Building at 841 N. Broadway.

Keep in mind that this is a starter system, limited by the availability of funds.  The plan is that once something is in the ground, expansions will be a lot easier.  Mayor Barrett himself describes the plan as a “trojan horse” designed to be expanded.

Likewise, this system is outside of the purview of MCTS and their funding issues.  It is certainly a piece of a larger regional transit solution, but the lack of a transit authority with dedicated funding is not a reason to stop working to actually utilize 18-year-idle federal funds.  That said, we still believe a regional transit authority with dedicated funding is vital to developing a healthy, regional transit system.  Thankfully Jim Doyle has proposed a plan to address just that, and now it’s up to our state legislators to act.

We invite you to vote in the below poll for your favorite route (and leave a message in the comments why), here is some quick food for thought from us.  You’re also invited to buy a streetcar t-shirt, and wear it to the event on October 8th to show your support.

Alignment #1

• This route seems positioned for success because it connects likely riders (urban residents) with jobs.  The Third Ward and downtown are filled with “creative class” jobs, and downtown and the lower East Side are filled with “creative class” workers.  Likewise this streetcar would connect service industry workers with numerous restaurants, bars, and retail locations, saving money for the people who need it most.
• The jog up to Brady is more valuable than the jog further south in the Third Ward.  Adding access for thousands of residents by connecting to Brady is more desirable than getting to the front door of more jobs in the Third Ward.  It seems likely that if riders were dropped off by the iconic Milwaukee Public Market they would likely walk to the jobs located south of St. Paul in the Third Ward.
• Development potential along this route is good, although secondary to the potential for riders.  This is key in this author’s viewpoint for making the starter system successful.
• Connection to the Intermodal Station is essential for regional transit (Amtrak, KRM, Megabus, Greyhound, etc).
• The 4th Street jaunt at the west end of the route seems likely to be underutilized, with likely only convention attendees and a few hotel guests using the leg.  It might be better waiting until funds are available to make the 4th Street leg go further north.

Alignment #2

• The Water Street leg seems to pass less housing than Alignment #1 would.  On the flip side it would likely pass more jobs, and more bars.  It seems that a better balance would yield better ridership for the starter system.
• The potential Brady Street leg is intriguing, but likely a disappointment in terms of development.  The Water Street portion could see more accelerated development, because of the line’s construction (The North End’s development would likely be accelerated).  The Brady Street portion would draw riders, however, future growth may be difficult because of neighborhood politics including the East Village Neighborhood Conversation Overlay District that limit heights and thereby inhibits density beyond a certain level.  Additionally, Brady Street itself is a historic district, which could limit the possibility of new development as well.  Long-term development potential from the line on Brady Street is likely fairly limited (compared to other potential routes).
• Connection to the Intermodal Station is essential for regional transit (Amtrak, KRM, Megabus, Greyhound, etc).
• The 4th Street jaunt at the west end of the route seems likely to be underutilized, with likely only convention attendees and a few hotel guests using the leg.  It might be better waiting until funds are available to make the 4th Street leg go further north.
• The alignment is less connected with the Third Ward, a large center of jobs, and is even further disconnected with the growing number of apartments at the east and southern areas of the Third Ward.

Alignment #3

• The alignment misses a large portion of East Town, the most jobs-dense portion of the city.
• The alignment serves many major entertainment hubs (Bradley Center, US Cellular Arena, Milwaukee Theater, Turner Hall Ballroom, Midwest Airlines Convention Center), which are likely to generate high ridership, but only on a handful of days.
• The alignment misses the Third Ward completely, a large jobs center, and an increasingly dense population center.
• The potential Brady Street leg is intriguing, but likely a disappointment in terms of development.  The Water Street portion could see more accelerated development because of the line’s construction (The North End’s development would likely be accelerated).  The Brady Street portion would draw riders, however, future growth may be difficult because of neighborhood politics including the East Village Neighborhood Conversation Overlay District that limit heights and thereby inhibit density beyond a certain level.  Additionally, Brady Street itself is a historic district, which could limit the possibility of new development as well.  Long-term development potential from the line on Brady Street is likely fairly limited (compared to other potential routes).
• The leg from Ogden to Brady would be important to generate ridership on the route, but it’s hard to imagine many people riding it to work daily.
• The route has the greatest development potential of the three routes, with all of the Park East covered.  Unfortunately, that comes with the trade-off of likely the lowest ridership.
• If the goal is to build a starter system with the greatest number of riders possible, this is the worst option.

Urban Milwaukee has produced a limited number of Milwaukee Streetcar t-shirts, available for $15 a piece.

A rendering of the Moderne

The Moderne, the long awaited project on the corner of 3rd and Juneau, is moving ahead.  The City, through RACM, is aiming to provide $10,000,000 in financial assistance to the project.  A deal that is very likely to be approved.  The building is to be largely an apartment building with first floor retail and a few condos at the top three floors.  Originally intended to be 80 condos, the project is now 154 apartments and 33 condos spread over 30 floors.

To demonstrate how long the project has been in the works, it won zoning approval in 2007.

Developer Rick Barrett reported that he had a difficult time finding financing, stating that he had talked to hundreds of banks.  It’s no secret why that might have been, with hundreds of units available on the condo market in Milwaukee (largely collected in a few buildings) and commercial real estate lending virtually non-existent as the economy falters.

Arguments have been put forth by aldermen that the Council should look at providing more aggressive financing for projects to ensure that the Milwaukee tax base continues to grow with no gap after the recession ends and that more jobs are maintained in the meantime.  The proposal to finance The Moderne seems to be a manifestation of that thought, with the knowledge that even if construction were to start today it wouldn’t end until 2011, when hopefully the recession is a fading memory.

The project will easily be one of the most dense buildings in Westown, with its good urban design and small footprint.  As a comparison, The Palomar, which was proposed just across the street, was to occupy an entire city block.  The Moderne will occupy a small plot of land next to Vecchio Bar and Grille.  Hopefully it can serve as a catalytic project to spur more quality urban development in the Park East and Westown.