Bob Donovan and the Milwaukee Streetcar

Alderman Bob Donovan is becoming a specialist in anti-streetcar press conferences. This time he held the press conference at a bar in his district instead of City Hall, and this time (too bad for those of us who like street theater) Alderman Bob Bauman chose not to attend. Bauman’s absence didn’t stop Donovan from referencing his own blow-up last week. In case any of you thought Donovan looked outflanked last week, he now claims that when he slammed his fist on the podium during the prior press conference Bauman soiled his pants (video).

I stand by my past prediction that Donovan will continue to create press releases and press conferences on the streetcar. It’s pretty apparent why Donovan has chosen this time to make it a big issue: Mayor Barrett is running for Governor, and Donovan doesn’t mind undercutting the mayor’s campaign. Win or lose for Barrett, Donovan is likely to be a lot less interested in this issue come June 6th.

A New Basketball Arena?

Yes, they’ve tried before, but it looks there will be renewed effort to create a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks, and this attempt– which is beginning to feel like a full court press — isn’t likely to be abandoned.  The announcement of naming rights for what will be known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center is the linchpin to the latest strategy. The MMAC, under the leadership of Tim Sheehy, helped broker a six-year naming rights deal with the new bank in town as well as handful of other sponsorships with other local companies. The $18 million in sponsorships (or $3 million a year) are to serve as a bridge to a new arena. They also send a signal that some of Milwaukee’s businesses (whose support has not been all that clear in the past) do see it as beneficial to have an NBA team in town.

It’s encouraging that the Uihleins have reversed their stance on the naming rights for the facility after publicly opposing such a deal in 2008. The worst thing that could happen to the facility would be losing its primary tenant — and Wisconsin’s only NBA franchise — to another city. BMO Harris will get increased brand name recognition, the Bucks will get a new revenue stream, and many will still call the building the Bradley Center. It’s a win for everyone.

Of interest from the fact sheet the Bucks released with the announcement is that the Bradley Center “draws 30% of its attendees from outside the four-county metro area of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha County,” which of course raises the issue of which taxpayers (if any) might be enlisted to help pay for a new arena — a very dicey subject. Also of interest in the NBA arena space race, the Golden State Warriors are inching closer to moving across the bay to San Francisco.

Jimmy Goldstein Could Buy the Milwaukee Bucks

Multi-millionaire and NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein seems like a candidate to buy the Milwaukee Bucks, albeit an outside one. The Los Angeles area resident holds courtside season tickets to both the Lakers and Clippers currently, but grew up in the Milwaukee area (his father owned Zahn’s department store in Racine for many years). He reveals in his GQ column that NBA Commissioner David Stern reached out to him previously about buying the Milwaukee Bucks, but the deal never came together because of Michael Jordan’s interest.

Current owner Herb Kohl is likely to sell the team in the not-too-distant future, and whether it comes before, after, or as part of a new arena being built is likely to be a crucial factor in retaining the Milwaukee franchise. A sale before a new arena would be the worst scenario: I think a Sonicsgate situation would leave a bitter taste in a lot of Milwaukeeans mouths.

Goldstein is well-known among the NBA blogosphere for crisscrossing the country during the playoffs to watch as many games as possible. He claims to have just come off a stretch where he attended 24 games in 23 days. He also owns a fairly well-known house that has appeared in a number of films. If you’re looking to get more acquainted with some interior shots of the iconic home, head to Lebowski Fest at Cathedral Square on June 22nd.

If he were to buy the team, Jimmy Goldstein would be the second Los Angeles-based owner of a Milwaukee sports team, following in the footsteps of Brewers owner Mark Attanasio. Including County Executive Chris Abele in a Goldstein ownership group would add a level of intrigue: which of the two long-time NBA courtside ticket holders, Goldstein or Abele, would get the best seats in the house?

Downtown Trolley is Back

The Milwaukee Trolley Loop returns May 30th.  It will operate Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. until 9 p.m. The service will provide rides for $1. Service runs through September 8th.

The route remains unchanged from last year, but if anyone could draw it from memory I would be surprised. The trolley is undoubtedly a positive for downtown Milwaukee, but there’s no doubt a fixed guideway system like a streetcar would be an upgrade.

East Library Land Sale and UWM Zoning Change Approved by Common Council

The East Library redevelopment project continues to move forward. We reported earlier this week that up-zoning for the site had been recommended for approval by the City Plan Commission, and now the full City of Milwaukee Common Council has approved the land sale necessary for the deal. The Standard at East Library is set to open in the spring of 2014. More details on the project can be found on our East Library category page.

In addition, as referenced in last week’s Eyes on Milwaukee, UW-Milwaukee’s request for a zoning change for the former St. Mary’s Hospital was approved. At this point the university is not publicly planning a large expansion of student housing to the property. I failed to clarify last week that the action was taken up by the Zoning, Neighborhoods, and Development Committee, not the full Common Council, but this the full council gave its approval Tuesday.  It’s now awaiting the signature of the Mayor.

Won't you be my neighbor?

Once it was impossible for a candidate from Milwaukee to get elected governor. Now, it seems that’s the only kind we want to elect. In a state encompassing 65,505 square miles, Gov. Scott Walker and Mayor Tom Barrett live bizarrely close to each other, exactly two miles and 59 feet apart. Barrett is at 5030 W. Washington Blvd., just a ways northeast of Walker, who lives at 520 N. 68th Street in Wauwatosa. Walker lives near the Valley Forge neighborhood, and some Republicans would have you believe he’s suffering as much abuse as George Washington once did. Barrett is in the Washington Heights neighborhood and hopes to scale the heights on June 5. The two town rivals are so close geographically you’d think they could just meet half-way at Hawthorn Glen and settle the election mano-a-mano.

Right Wing Recall Fan

It seems to have become an article of faith among conservatives that recalls have gone overboard and we need limits on their use. An interesting exception is the Citizens for Responsible Government, and its spokesperson Chris Kliesmet. Kliesmet is a fervent Walker supporter, but opposed to limiting the use of recalls in Wisconsin.

No one has worked on more recalls in this state. Kliesmet estimates CRG has helped groups launch at least two dozen recalls. Most were small municipal elections and had a conservative slant, often in opposition to government spending. CRG was formed to recall former Milwaukee County Executive F. Thomas Ament, whose resignation opened the door for the election of Scott Walker.

Kliesmet argues that frivolous recalls will not succeed. “If it’s for a bad reason — I don’t like the official’s dog — you’re not going to get the signatures.”

And Kliesmet is adamant that recalls are critical to a vibrant democracy. “Do you wait till the next election to fire a bad plumber?” he asks. “Politicians are not a protected class. They should not be given a four-year no-cut contract.”

Why the Journal Sentinel Endorsed Walker

Many around town were buzzing about the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s endorsement of Scott Walker. The editorial, after all, offered a laundry list of negatives about Walker’s performance, noting that “No governor in America is so polarizing” and “Walker brought on some of this animosity on himself,” while Act 10 was “an overreach of political power.” That sounds more or less like a Barrett stump speech.

Yet the JS had no choice but to endorse Walker because it has editorialized against recalls pursued because of disagreement over “a single policy.” It has yet to explain why the recall was a legitimate tool in the case of Tom Ament and the single policy change (the pension plan) he championed.

But in the future, to be consistent, it will have to oppose the recall when the next politician passes some outrageously self-serving but legal piece of legislation like the county pension plan. It seems a strange position indeed for a paper that prides itself on its watchdog stories to protect the public interest.

They Like Us, They Really Like Us!

Readers were quick to point out that the New York Times did get around to reviewing the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s performance at Carnegie Hall. Critic James R. Oestreich’s review offered plenty of praise. He lauded music director Edo de Waart, who, “no surprise, showed full command here and in the more standard works” and the “responsive orchestra (which) shone everywhere, with warm strings, characterful woodwinds and strong brasses.” Characterful woodwinds are my favorite kind.

MSO musicians are still hopeful that New Yorker writer Alex Ross (for my money the best classical music critic in America) will review the concert.

The Journal Sentinel presumably didn’t think it was worth the cost to fly its freelance critic to review the concert, yet Shepherd Express critic Rick Walters and ThirdCoast Digest’s Tom Strini managed to get there. Word has it Walters had frequent flyer miles and Strini got help from a symphony patron. So it goes in a world where publications of all kinds are slashing their budgets for arts critics.

Waukesha Dry Gulches Itself

JS reporter Don Behm did a solid and pretty gutsy story on Waukesha’s bid for Lake Michigan water that predicts the city is unlikely to meet the legal deadline for its proposal. Waukesha is the first city completely outside the Great Lakes basis to ask the various states in the region for permission to divert Lake Michigan, but there is a legal time table for such proposals, and Waukesha looks like it may not make it.

The legal requirements are hard enough, but Waukesha hurt itself first by going the cheap route. Instead of proposing to build a pipeline to return water all the way back to the lake, which would have been more expensive, it chose the option of returning the water to Underwood Creek in Wauwatosa, where the water would then flow into the Menomonee River and eventually to the lake. But that raises sticky environmental issues that will delay the process.

Waukesha’s voters hurt the effort by electing Jeff Scrima as mayor, who ran on an anti-Milwaukee platform and has done everything to oppose and slow down the proposal to gain Lake Michigan water. It looks like Scrima and his supporters are going to get their way. But they may regret it.

Example of the minimums allowed by LB2 compared to LB3

Residents are still a little restive about it, but the East Side’s buildings are likely to get a little higher, to judge by the results of today’s City Plan Commission meeting.

The Commission approved up-zoning (higher height limits) for the project to replace the East Library, while a broader proposal for a similar up-zoning along the rest of along E. North Ave was held. This approval keeps The Standard at East Library on track for a spring 2014 opening. Meanwhile it remains to be seen if up-zoning for all of E. North Avenue  can be completed before a rumored development for the former Prospect Mall comes forward. Besides raising minimum and maximum heights, the zoning changes also permit greater density, while requiring designs more conducive to walkable neighborhoods.

Two years in the making, the proposed up-zoning is part of the continuing evolution of E. North Ave from the river to Prospect Ave, and springs from the same effort that created the East Side Architectural Review Board. The two zoning changes were introduced as separate items because of the time sensitive nature of the library redevelopment, despite the fact that it is located on North Avenue.

East North Avenue

Proposed Area to Zone LB3

First up before the commission was the proposal to up-zone E. North Ave’s zoning classification from Local Business 2 (LB2) to Local Business 3 (LB3), which would  raise the minimum heights for buildings to 30 feet (up from 18), and the maximum heights to 75 feet (up from 60).

Department of City Development (DCD) planner Greg Patin explained the rational behind the changes, noting the city had previously reformed its zoning codes, but had not created enough options for districts. The Department believes that some recent developments have not fit in as well as they could have, and that these code changes would rectify the situation. Patin noted that recent developments in the area, such as UWM’s residence halls and Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital, are excluded from the boundaries of the proposed change from LB2 to LB3 as they already have special zoning accommodations beyond what LB2 allows.

He noted that the LB3 zoning district is a completely new zoning classification created by the city that allows for greater minimum and maximum heights as well as increased density. It was designed to create additional options for zoning districts, and to reduce the number of planned developments (projects which require special zoning exemptions on a site-by-site basis). This new zoning designation also requires a greater street frontage and taller ground level windows. For those thirsty for more details, DCD has produced a presentation in PDF format that further explains the new LB3 designation.

Jim Plaisted, Executive Director of the East Side Business Improvement District, spoke in favor of the changes, but two neighbors were opposed.

Cindy Kluge, speaking on behalf of the Greenwich Village Neighborhood Assocation, asked for the matter to be postponed until the area’s neighborhood associations have more time to review the proposal. Her association is in favor of zoning change around North Avenue, but would like the heights to taper off as they get away from North Ave.

Pam Frautschi, President of the East Side Milwaukee Community Council, said her group basically supports the position of the Greenwich Village Neighborhood Association. She stated that the density allowed is one aspect of the zoning change the East Side Milwaukee Community Council opposes.

Alderman Nik Kovac spoke at length on the proposed changes. He noted it has been a two year process to get this point, and that this isn’t something that has “dropped out of left field.” He stated that the entire portion of the proposal south of Thomas Ave is non-controversial, and that city officials had worked with neighborhood groups on these changes. As an example, Kovac noted that everything on the west side of Murray Ave, north of Thomas Ave, is to be left as LB2. He also stated that he felt that for Murray Ave 75 feet is probably too high, but also that 18 feet (the existing minimum) is too low. He noted that there is some urgency to moving this forward as a Prospect Mall proposal is in the works.

There was some discussion of a compromise to remove the up-zoning north of Thomas Ave, which Kluge said she generally supported, but added that her other concern is “public process,” that the neighborhood association needed more time to review the proposed changes.

Ultimately, the up-zoning was held until the next meeting of the commission on a 3 to 2 vote.

East Library

The Standard at East Library

The East Libary zoning change, from LB2 to the new LB3, was brought before the Plan Commission today in order to allow the East Library RFP winners, HSI Properties and WiRED Properties, to move forward with their plan to gain U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) financing approval.

Unlike the broader North Ave up-zoning, no one spoke against the changes for the East Library site. Alderman Kovac explained that although there isn’t universal support for the design plans for the new mixed-use library, there is a lot of support, and this zoning change is needed to move the project forward.

The City Plan Commission unanimously recommended for approval the change from LB2 to LB3 for the East Library site.

The East Libary will be the first property in the site to be zoned LB3 if confirmed by the Common Council.

For past coverage of the redevelopment of the East Library, see our East Library category page.

Bob Bauman vs Bob Donovan

We reached out to Aldermen Bob Bauman and Bob Donovan to get their perspective on the Milwaukee Streetcar project following the press conference “debate”. We offered each alderman a 600 to 1000 word position piece on the streetcar project.

Alderman Bauman responded with his piece, which is included below. Alderman Donovan’s office never replied directly to our initial request, but Donovan’s aide Patty Doherty did leave a comment on the press conference article ending with “And that is the concise version of the 600-1000 words you requested.”

Alderman Robert Bauman on the Milwaukee Streetcar

Forward or Backward?

On July 26 of last year, the Common Council voted 10 to 5 to approve a 3.6 mile downtown streetcar line and approved $9.7 Million in tax incremental financing to match the $54.9 Million in federal transit funds to finance construction of the initial $64.5 Million, 2 mile segment of that 3.6 mile line (file #110324). Leading up to this debate, council members heard from many constituents including 36 witnesses at a public hearing (34 testified in favor and two testified in opposition), 163 letters of support from individuals and businesses and hundreds of email and phone communications that ran approximately 2 to 1 in favor of the streetcar. The council approved the streetcar for three basic reasons: job creation, economic development and improved mobility and connectivity.

First, this $64.2 Million public works investment would create hundreds of direct and indirect construction jobs and would create dozens of permanent jobs for operations and maintenance. Second, this investment would promote downtown economic development and increase the downtown tax base which would support basic city services throughout Milwaukee. Third, this new transit service in downtown and nearby neighborhoods would offer an entirely new transportation option for downtown workers, residents, shoppers, students, visitors, tourists and patrons of downtown bars, restaurants and sports, entertainment and cultural venues.

The streetcar was designed to supplement, not replace, existing bus service to and through downtown and to connect the refurbished Intermodal/Amtrak Station with the many downtown business, entertainment and cultural destinations as well as downtown residential areas and nearby residential neighborhoods. The streetcar corridor would serve 100% of downtown hotel rooms, 91% of first floor commercial & retail space, 90% of occupied office space and 77% of downtown residential units. In sum, last year’s council action represented a significant step forward toward the goal of establishing a modern, 21^st Century transit system throughout Milwaukee on par with all large and most mid-sized cities in the United States which have built or are building urban rail systems.

Nevertheless, there are some who want to stop progress and move us backwards. One argument is that the $54.9 Million in federal transit funds should be used for some other purpose. Various suggestions are offered such as subsidizing the existing bus system, filling pot holes, repaving local streets, rebuilding highways, or buying new buses. While each one of these uses represent a significant public need, the council determined back in July, 2011 that the $54.9 Million of federal transit funds could not be used for any purpose other than the construction of a downtown streetcar line based on a communication from the administrator of the Federal Transit Administration and advice from Milwaukee’s congressional delegation. In fact we were told that some of these suggested uses such as filing pot holes and repaving local streets were not and never have been eligible for any type of federal funding much less specifically appropriated transit funds.

The council determined that the choice was to move forward with a downtown streetcar line or send the money back to the federal government for reprogramming as a grant to another city building or planning new rail transit lines. In essence, the choice was between job creation, economic development and improved mobility and connectivity in Milwaukee or job creation, economic development and improved mobility in St. Louis, Salt Lake City or some other city. Based on this choice and the potential benefits of this investment in Milwaukee, a solid majority of council members voted to move forward instead of backward.

Another argument to stop progress and move us backward is that the streetcar will not “pay for itself”. Again, the council considered this argument at length and concluded first, that no public transit or rail system in the world “pays for itself”; second, that public transit is a public service just like police or fire protection which also do not “pay for themselves”; and third, in the case of the streetcar, it would pay for itself based on a clause in the legislation approving the project that stated that incremental property tax revenue generated by new development in the streetcar corridor had to exceed any public funds used for streetcar operations. Based on this analysis a solid majority voted to approve the streetcar.

Finally the advocates of moving us backward continually call for a referendum. Once again the council considered this question back on July 26, 2011. A resolution was offered to hold a referendum. It was defeated on a vote of 12 to 3.

However, since then we had a referendum. It is called an election. On April 3, 2012 nine of the 10 council members who voted for the streetcar project and the mayor were returned to office by overwhelming margins.

During last year’s streetcar debate, council members were well aware that a negative vote was the politically safe decision. Nevertheless, after considering the arguments for and against, a solid majority voted for the project because in the end they wanted to move this city forward.

Robert J. Bauman
Alderman, 4th District

Alderman Robert Donovan’s office on the Milwaukee Streetcar

Ald. Donovan did pose this [ed: a referendum] to the Common Council. It was voted down ONLY when an alternative proposal was introduced. The alternative proposal stated that not one cent will be spent on the Milwaukee Streetcar until a complete cost report is prepared by the Comptroller’s office and presented to the Council.

If the report comes back stating that the project will exceed $64 million, it is very likely that this item will go back to the Council floor to be rehashed. For Ald. Bauman to state that this has already been voted on and that’s the end is very misleading.

The Comptroller’s office is waiting for a decision from the State regarding who is responsible for the cost of moving the utilities. If it is decided that the City of Milwaukee has to pay for this, the project will be presented to the Council as “fiscally unfeasible”. At that point, changes can be made to the plan in order to bring the cost back down to $64 million. Once the cost of moving the utilities is factored in, this will be an impossible task.

If the decision from the State comes back in favoring the City over the utilities regarding the cost of moving the lines, the utilities will then publicly announce the total cost and state that they will recoup those costs from their customers – and not just the ones in the City of Milwaukee. 5 Council Members strongly support this project and 5 are opposed. Let’s see how the 5 in the middle vote once the Comptroller’s cost report comes back.

As for reallocating the funds, Governor Thompson had no problem getting this done after the original project for this grant fizzled out. After working out an agreement with the Mayor and County Executive from our area at that time, he petitioned the change at the Federal level and got it. For those of you who don’t know, the streetcar proposal was NOT what this money was originally allocated for.

And that is the concise version of the 600-1000 words you requested.

Patty Doherty

 

Bauman vs Donovan

Leave it to Ald. Bob Bauman to upstage Ald. Bob Donovan at his own press conference.

Continuing his efforts to derail the Milwaukee Streetcar, Donovan held a press conference Tuesday at City Hall challenging Mayor Tom Barrett’s position on the project. Donovan wants Barrett to promise a state subsidy for the project if he’s elected, or else put the entire project on hold. Donovan also continues to demand a referendum on the project, insisting that 70 percent of city residents oppose the project. Barrett and the rest of the Common Council have publicly ignored Donovan on this issue until yesterday. So Donovan called his press conference to dramatize his views, only to have Bauman unexpectedly join him at the podium. It was a strange twist to what was supposed to the be standard, one-sided press conference. Instead, a largely one-sided shouting match occurred.

Said Bauman to the other Bob: “I’m not going to let you lie to the public.” Bauman said Donovan was “showboating” and making “wild assertions” instead of “taking action,” noting that the federal money can’t be appropriated for another purpose and would be sent to another city if the Milwaukee project doesn’t move forward.

Donovan wasn’t having it. He started repeating “shame on you” to his fellow Bob, after Bauman claimed Donovan was demonstrating an aversion to the City of Milwaukee. Then, after weathering a few sarcastic remarks about his hatred for the city, Donovan waved his hand and walked away. But the show wasn’t over, as the Bobs continued to trade barbs from across the room.

While I don’t support Bauman’s hijacking of Donovan’s press conference (other than for the entertainment value), Bauman did manage to rather easily paint Donovan as a man of many words and little action when it comes to the streetcar. Why doesn’t Donovan introduce a file to the Common Council for a referendum on the project? Bauman noted that Donovan has proposed a referendum in the past, and his proposal was voted down. Bauman also noted that the money can’t be used for road repairs and that the federal government would send it elsewhere, to which Donovan didn’t have a clear solution.

To score points with his base and talk radio, Bob Donovan appears perfectly content to grandstand on this issue. He has used the 70 percent opposition claim numerous times, but can’t seem to back up the figure. In November he claimed to have collected about 900 signatures in opposition, far short of the approximately 320,000 he would need (that would be 70 percent of those over 18 in Milwaukee) to prove his point.

Donovan has claimed in the past he doesn’t have time to go around circulating a citywide petition against the streetcar. But more than likely, he’ll have time for press release after press release bashing the streetcar, until the rails are in the ground.

UPDATE: I was unable to make the original press conference, and have relied on the raw video from Fox 6 to draw my conclusions. I have been informed that missing from the raw video is the the uninterrupted statement Donovan gave to begin the presentation, followed by a similarly uninterrupted one from Bauman. The back and forth between Bauman and Donovan began after both had been given the chance to speak. Why those original statements are not included in the raw video segment from Fox 6 is anyone’s guess.

Talgo Open House

The elegant Talgo trainsets ordered by the Doyle administration for the Amtrak Hiawatha are nearly complete. But will they ever be used?

Alas, Sunday is quite possibly the only day you will ever get to go inside them. Tours, children’s activities, and refreshments will be available at the Talgo assembly facility from noon until 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 20th. The facility is located in the Century City redevelopment area at 3533 North 27th Street. Off-site parking is available, with MCTS Routes 27 and 80 getting you there as well.

If you can’t make it Sunday, the trainsets are also currently visible from south side of the facility on W. Townsend Avenue between 27th and the railroad bridge.

Strategically ordered before federal high speed rail grants were announced, the purchase contract pushed Wisconsin to the top of the list and netted Wisconsin $810 million to extend the Hiawatha to Madison and buy more trainsets. Governor Walker’s campaign against the poorly marketed train resulted in the federal government re-appropriating the funds to other states.

The trainsets face an uncertain future following the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee decision to cancel funding for a permanent maintenance base for the equipment. It remains unclear if the state will put the trainsets into service utilizing the temporary maintenance base (the assembly facility), or mothball the trainsets once they’re complete (potentially violating their contract with Talgo).

Hopefully someday the trainsets will be in use in Wisconsin. Until then I’ll just shake my head at the insane series of decisions taken merely to score political points. I do look forward to seeing our former high-speed rail funds at work when I take the Amtrak Lincoln Service, a corridor being upgraded to higher speed rail, to St. Louis this summer.

Downtown Block Party

The parking lot between 4th and 5th streets on the south side of Wisconsin Ave will finally see some activity this summer thanks to a handful of groups working to change the way Wisconsin Avenue is perceived (starting with rebranding it the WAM District). First up is a tailgate party hosted by Pabst Theater and NEWaukee on May 25th that includes the live broadcast of a Milwaukee Brewers game. The Downtown Baseball Block Party has live music starting at 6:30, a live broadcast by the FSN broadcasting team, food trucks for those that don’t bring their own grills, and a cash bar. The fun will go until midnight. There is a Facebook event with more information.

Another event is planned for June 14th in conjunction the Milwaukee IndyFest race. The Milwaukee IndyFest Street Party will kick off the three-day event that culminates in an internationally televised IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile. The kickoff event will include a car show, House of Harley-Davidson parade, driver appearances, food trucks, and beer stations.

While I would have rather seen the proposed Catalyst development by the Ghazi Company occupying this parking lot, I’m thrilled to see groups programming the space for more than just parking. NEWaukee and the Pabst Theater have a history of drawing thousands of people to their events (Young Professional Week, Fish Fry and a Flick). Hopefully this is just the start of good things to come for Wisconsin Avenue.

Bike Use on Buses Doubles

A press release by the Milwaukee County Transit System shows bike use is growing by leaps and bounds. County buses transported 95,000 bicycles in all of 2011, but through April 30th of this year, over 29,000 bicycles were transported, more than double last year’s numbers through the same period (12,695). Whether it’s this year’s mild weather or increased awareness that is driving the increased usage, it’s encouraging to see ever more cyclists take advantage of the racks.

For more information on how to put utilize the racks, see the MCTS webpage and video Bikes on Buses.

Explore the Historic Concordia Neighborhood with Historic Milwaukee, Inc. on Saturday

Historic Milwaukee’s annual Spaces & Traces event features the Historic Concordia neighborhood this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with tours of 13 historically prominent residences and businesses in the near west side neighborhood. Tickets to the event are $25 , and $20 for HMI members and there’s a five dollar price increase if you wait till the the day of the event. Also included are a lecture by John Gurda about the architectural and cultural history of the neighborhood (at 11:00 a.m.), one by Alderman Bauman, a long-time neighborhood resident, on living in and representing the neighborhood (1 p.m.), and a special Miller Brewery tour (4 p.m.) More information is available on the Historic Milwaukee website.

HMI will also present Alderman Bob Bauman with the 31st annual Spaces & Traces Historic Preservation Award tonight at Fred’s Pub.

Kudos to HMI for their efforts in putting on the annual Spaces & Traces event, which allows for an up close look at Milwaukee’s history.

UWM Gains Zoning Approval for Columbia Hospital Redevelopment

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was granted a zoning change for the former Columbia Hospital that will allow the school to expand into the complex of buildings now known as the Northwest Quadrant (file #101472). The university acquired the complex in December 2010.  This change allows UWM to fully use the former hospital as part of the university campus. Various pieces of the complex are already in service given that they comply with existing zoning regulations (parking garage, coffee shop, and offices).

As part of the zoning change, UWM Chancellor Michael Lovell voluntarily agreed to cap the number of students living in the former Columbia College of Nursing building at 90 Honors students (UWM leased a portion of the building for student housing in the past). Should the university wish to expand the number of students living in the Honors College facility to 200 in the next ten years, the university will first seek a public hearing and advisory ruling by an appropriate City body. Prior to the end of the ten year period UWM will consult with the Mariner Neighborhood Association or any successor, and the appropriate City body to determine if the commitment should be extended. We have re-posted the statement from Chancellor Lovell for your convenience.

The only vote against the zoning change was cast by Alderman Bauman. Bauman wants to see UWM place student residences throughout the city instead of concentrating them on the Upper East Side campus.

I believe the growth of UWM as a top-tier university is good for the city as well as the school, and am happy to see a resolution was found to neighborhood concerns about the university’s expansion. If only this land could have been used for an engineering school, as opposed to a new campus being created in western Wauwatosa.

The Moderne Meeting Hiring Requirements

As part of the city financing package that went towards The Moderne, developer Rick Barrett (Barrett Visionary Development), general contractor J.H. Findorff & Son, and technical coordinator Prism Technical are required to meet certain Emerging Business Enterprise (EBE) and Residence Preference Program (RPP) requirements. To-date, The Moderne has complied with both. Through March 31st, EBE participants received 26 percent of the adjusted construction budget totaling approximately $4.5 million. Through February 29th, RPP participants logged 41,000 hours or 30.4 percent of on-site construction hours. Minimum requirements were 25 and 30 percent respectively.

This information was presented before the Zoning, Neighborhoods, & Development committee. Alderman Michael Murphy noted that “the project is ahead of schedule, under budget, and is a beautiful building.” Committee Chair Alderman Jim Bohl added “this has been a very big success, and we will continue to build off of it.”

More information is available in the report presented to the committee, or on the file in Legistar (#120016).

Kids Ride Free on Amtrak Hiawatha This Summer

Children ages 2 to 15 can ride free on the Amtrak Hiawatha on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between June 1st and August 26th. Up to two children can receive free tickets when accompanied by a paid full fare adult. To claim the offer use discount code V813.

I’ve written a column in the past asking for more creative pricing for the Hiawatha (Amtrak Should Innovate with Hiawatha Service Pricing). This is a step in the right direction.

Openings and Closings

If you’re looking for the Openings and Closings section of Eyes on Milwaukee, you will need to hold off for a few days. We’re spinning the section off into its own piece to debut in the next week.

Alderman Robert Donovan

Milwaukee Ald. Bob Donovan loves creating non-profit groups, even if it gets him in hot water.

Back in 2005, Donovan was indicted on a federal charge of defrauding the government through his involvement with the Milwaukee Alliance, a non-profit he started after his election to the Common Council in 2000. The indictment charged that Donovan used his aldermanic funds to help pay the bills of the Milwaukee Alliance, whose employees included his wife Kathy Donovan and his stepdaughter Stephanie Repich. Donovan also voted to give the group a federal grant, without disclosing his connections to the group. The Milwaukee Alliance also did some constituent services for Donovan and provided him with free space for a district office.

In November, 2005, Donovan agreed to a non-criminal resolution to the indictment whereby he paid a $2,500 fine and agreed not be involved with any non-profit receiving federal funds for the next two years.

Not long after the two years was up, Donovan was back, with a new group called “Operation Impact,” created to fight crime in his South Side district. A 2011 news release by the group announced that “over the last three years, Operation Impact has raised several hundreds of thousands of dollars… from local businesses, foundations and individuals” to help pay for police overtime for beat cops, new lights for alleys and surveillance cameras for businesses on the South Side. The group’s website thanks a long list of donors, including four local foundations, six local businesses and the Milwaukee Police Association.

The group’s splashiest impact came when Donovan convinced Garda armored services to donate a used armored courier truck, nicknamed “the Rhino, ” to the Milwaukee Police Department.

Donovan, though, had much bigger plans, and was pushing to fund Operation Impact with another $700,000 in government funding from the city and state.

Precisely how much money was actually raised or spent by his group is difficult to say. I can’t find any records for it. Operation Impact is not registered with the State of Wisconsin and no records for it appear at Guidestar.org, which tracks all non-profits. (By contrast, the Milwaukee Alliance, which went of business in 2006, could be found both in state records and at Guidestar.) Mick Daley of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing, says there is “no record of any kind” for Operation Impact.

At least some of Operation Impact’s fundraising was done through the Milwaukee Christian Center, a south side non-profit. That group’s most recent federal tax form, for 2010, does have one line listing a total of $59,816 raised for Operation Impact and expenses of $3,589. But there is no mention of the group in its 2009 and 2008 tax forms. And the 2010 federal form doesn’t offer any detailed accounting of where the donations for Operation Impact came from or how the money for expenses was spent.

All of the press releases for Operation Impact have actually been issued by Donovan’s office at City Hall, list him as the contact person and are studded with quotes from Donovan, including one of him quoting Winston Chuchill. A press release quoted Donovan saying donations for police overtime were being collected by the Common Council. As with the Milwaukee Alliance, it’s difficult to know the boundary lines between Operation Impact and Ald. Donovan’s office, where one ends and the other begins.

To further complicate things, Donovan also runs some group called “Common Sense,” with its slogan “Ideas for a Better Milwaukee.” The site promotes Operation Impact, and lists the phone number of Donovan’s aldermanic aide Patricia Doherty. It also runs articles by Donovan and what appear to be his supporters, seconding his stands on various city issues.

Jodi Hazen, finance director for the Milwaukee Christian Center, directed all questions about Operation Impact to the center’s executive director, Barbara J. Wyatt Sibley, who is out of the office until next week.

As for Donovan, when I reached him by phone he asked what I was calling about. I said Operation Impact. Donovan’s response: “Oh. Okay. Have a good evening.” Then he hung up the phone.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele

Will Chris Abele run for mayor? Sources have told me the Milwaukee County Executive is considering running for mayor of Milwaukee should Tom Barrett get elected governor — and has even talked about trying to hold both positions at once. I reached Abele, who conceded discussing this with friends: “I tend to think out loud.” Abele said he spends a lot of time thinking about efficiencies and how to consolidate government functions, and that any merger of city and county functions is inevitably stymied by turf battles. Whereas if he held both executive positions, he jokes, “I’m unlikely to get into turf battles with myself.”

That’s funny, but perhaps not the best campaign slogan. I think the idea of Abele holding both positions would get quickly hooted down as an unseemly power grab, with radio squawkers Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling leading the chorus of critics. Abele, however, adds that “it’s nothing I’m actively pursuing.”

Nor could he. As Sykes has noted, correcting an early version of my column, if Barrett is elected governor, Common Council President Willie Hines would take over as acting mayor.

Double Dipping

Last week I wrote about State Sen. Van Wanggaard’s double dipping. It’s worth noting two other double dippers, in this case Democrats: New City Treasurer Spencer Coggs intends to continue collecting his state senator salary of about $50,000 through 2012 even as he earns $114,000 from the city. And new county supervisor Dave Cullen intends to continue collecting his state assembly salary through 2012. Both have suggested they might give the money back to charity, but as talk radio’s Jeff Wagner notes, these kind of promises are easily broken. Indeed, former county supervisors Joe Rice and Paul Cesarz both made pledges to give back much of their salaries, but the press soon forgot about it and neither ever disclosed how much they ever gave back.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in New York

My, how times have changed. In the old days, a trip by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra would have generated a bunch of reviews from the New York press, bringing the MSO national attention. Nowadays, the concert doesn’t even get a review by the home town newspaper. That’s right, last Friday’s Carnegie Hall concert got no review from the New York Times or any other NYC publication, nor even from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The only reviews were by Milwaukee’s ThirdCoast Digest (thanks to Tom Strini), and the daily paper in Birmingham, Alabama. Imagine the next time the orchestra tries to sell donors to sponsor such a trip: hey, this could get us a review from an Alabama critic.

In the Eyes

The eyes have it: gubernatorial rivals Scott Walker and Tom Barrett are in many ways polar opposites, particularly when you look at their eyes. Walker’s typically look sleepy, even when he’s delivering a fiery speech. Barrett looks wild-eyed; there’s a strange intensity to the cast of his eyes. It’s ironic: firebrand revolutionary Walker looks like he’s about to snooze while the typically bland Barrett’s eyes signal a crazed ferocity.

They Love Ron Johnson and Paul Ryan

In a Sunday New York Times story on the Tea Party challenge to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Wisconsin’s Senator Ron Johnson was cited as a key ally: McConnell “enlisted” Johnson, “a freshman elected with Tea Party backing, to lead efforts to coordinate the Republican messages and agenda in the Senate and the House with the party’s presidential nominee.” That seeming elevation of Johnson’s stature is ironic, since Johnson subtly distanced himself from the Tea Party during his successful campaign against Russ Feingold.

The same story noted that “Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the House Budget Committee chairman, has become perhaps his party’s most important policy maker.” That’s good news for Ryan, but makes you wonder just how deep the GOP party’s bench goes when it comes to policy making.

Hooters and Flag Burning

The Journal Sentinel has been too high-minded to report the fact that Walker spokeswoman Ciara Mathews was once a Hooters girl, but the liberal Capital Times was happy to spread the story and link to a spicy image, earning the scorn of Fox Nation and Jeff Wagner.

Not to be outdone, conservatives have gone after state Democratic Party Communications Director Graeme Zielinski for burning a flag while in college. I’m sure members of both parties are relieved that no photos of a scantily dressed Zielinski were unearthed.

Where was Peter Bock?

Did anyone notice Peter Bock’s invisibility in the Democratic gubernatorial primary? Bock is a former state legislator who was highly regarded (a 1997 Milwaukee Magazine story by yours truly rated him as one of the ten best lawmakers)  and is married to Kathleen Falk,  but you never heard about him campaigning for her in the gubernatorial primary. Of course, Bock is also an old friend of Falk’s opponent Tom Barrett; Barrett and Bock often traveled to Madison together when both were legislators.

CEO Pay

Kudos to reporter Cary Spivak and the Journal Sentinel for their Sunday stories on corporate executive pay. As grossly high as company filings show CEO pay is today, Spivak has documented that the pay is even higher in some cases, as documented by the state net tax records. He found that in 2010, former Bucryrus International CEO Tim Sullivan and Rockwell Automation CEO Keith Nosbusch both earned a stratospheric $29.5 million while Harley Davidson CEO Keith Wandell brought home $20.4 million.

Spivak also took a look at shareholder votes on executive pay, showing that many companies are seeing a backlash from shareholders. And small wonder, when you have numerous CEOs getting huge raises while shareholders get the shaft: in 2011, Manitowoc Co. Inc. CEO Glen Tellock got a 77 percent raise while the value of the company’s stock declined 29 percent and MGIC Investment Corp. CEO Curt Culver saw his pay rise 28 percent while the company’s stock dropped 63 percent.

The newspaper typically includes the pay of its own CEO in these stories, but this story went further, spotlighting Journal Communications Inc. CEO Steven Smith, whose rose by 8.5 percent even as company earnings dropped by 35 percent and the stock price dropped 9 percent. That showed some guts by JS editor Marty Kaiser.

“If somebody other than me is elected on June 5th, it will have fundamentally changed elections in Wisconsin,” Walker predicted. “I think you’ll have a recall the year after. And a recall the year after. And a recall the year after. It will be recall ping-pong. It will go back and forth. I think that’s a horrendous outcome. Employers will be scared to death of that. You’d see a retraction of jobs as people move somewhere else.”

No, Walker didn’t predict a plague of locusts, but his message was clear: his defeat would forever darken the political landscape of Wisconsin.

Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) has offered a medical analogy to define the utter terror of recalls:  “Recall elections are like a cancer,” he declared. The legislature must “apply chemotherapy immediately to try to stop the cancer from spreading.”

JS editorials have echoed Vos’ doctorly stance, diagnosing  “recall fever” and decrying the “poisonous atmosphere” it has caused. Another editorial echoed Walker’s prediction of recall ping-pong, suggesting there could be  “a wave of recalls following his.”

“Politicians, regardless of party, should not be recalled over one issue or one (or even several) votes,” the editorial maintained.

Funny. When the Milwaukee County pension scandal broke, it involved just one issue. Yet the Journal Sentinel ran an orgy of front page stories, hammering Milwaukee County Executive F. Thomas Ament and the Milwaukee County Board unrelentingly for months. A recall effort was launched against Ament (who resigned rather than get thrown out) and nine or ten supervisors (seven were successfully recalled). None of these politicians were accused of misconduct in office (which Vos and the Journal Sentinel believe should be the only possible reason to recall a politician from office). Yet the paper did everything it could to induce recall fever with its news coverage.  Apparently, it likes some recalls better than others.

The Journal Sentinel, and conservative bloggers like Christian Schneider, argue it has become too easy to recall public officials. On the contrary. “Historically, recall attempts at the state level have been unsuccessful,”the National Conference of State Legislatures has noted.

Its data shows that since 1913, when the first recall laws were passed, there have been just 33 recall attempts of state officials in the U.S. and 17 that were successful. That, by the way, includes last year’s wave of legislative recalls in Wisconsin. This election will add five more recall attempts for Wisconsin and the nation.

And it’s much tougher to do a recall in Wisconsin. Wisconsin requires anyone wanting to recall a governor to get enough signatures equal to 25 percent of those who voted in the last election. Idaho requires just 20 percent, Georgia and Oregon and Rhode Island 15 percent, California only 12 percent.

No state makes it easier than California, yet the recall of Gray Davis didn’t create a ping-pong effect. There has been no attempt to recall a governor since.

The bar in Wisconsin is so high that no one ever thought a governor could be recalled. I was among those who predicted the opponents of Walker could never get that many signatures. Wow, were we wrong.

Schneider has argued that back in the horse-and-buggy days, it was harder to organize a recall. If so, that would only be a reason to increase the number of signatures required. But is it really so easy to recall a governor today?  Then why wasn’t Gov. Jim Doyle recalled?

Schneider, after all, has argued that Wisconsin was actually more divided under Doyle, citing a poll showing 55 percent of voters disapproving of him compared to 47 percent who disapproved of Walker.

Yet opponents of Doyle tried to organize a recall and gave up; they couldn’t get anywhere near enough signatures to recall him. Schneider also says Wisconsin has “always housed deep divisions.” Yet no governor in history had ever been recalled until now. The JS editorial condemned another example of those dreaded single issue recalls: Opponents of state senators Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) and Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) threatened to recall them from office because they opposed legislation to make it easier for mining companies to operate in Wisconsin. But neither recall materialized. Recalls aren’t easy.

Have there been excesses in the recall process? I think Democrats have wasted our time targeting some state senators they have no hopes of recalling. And Republicans have perverted the process by running fake Democrats in order to force a primary election in each case.

But excesses come with any kind of democratic process. That’s not a reason to eliminate recalls.

The irony of all this conservative opposition to recalls is that most recalls in Wisconsin have been organized by conservatives and championed by talk radio. Indeed, it was the demise of Ament which led directly to Walker’s election to county executive, and gave him the platform to run for governor. Walker was once a big fan of recalls. Now he decries their impact on Wisconsin.

Misconduct in office is something that’s typically policed by the legislature or legal system, whereas recalls arose out of the old Progressive tradition, with the goal of making public officials more answerable to the electorate. If you believe in recalls to throw out Democrats like Ament, how can you oppose them for Republicans like Walker?

State Senator Van Wanggaard

Is there any member of the Wisconsin legislature whose stand on public unions is more vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy than state Sen. Van Wanggaard of Racine? As a member of the Republican majority, Wanggaard has backed all the measures to cut back union rights and compensation. But prior to becoming a legislator, Wanggaard served nearly three decades as a police officer and several years as a union board member, who helped negotiate higher benefits for employees like himself.

Wangaard downplays his union roots: his 2010 campaign bio was quite long and detailed, but omitted any mention of his union jobs. He was a Racine police officer from 1972-2001, earning lifetime health insurance and a fine pension. After serving 29 years, he would have earned around 62 percent of his final average salary, which for a Traffic Investigator (his last position with the department), would have been in the neighborhood of $54,000, an insider with the Racine Police Department estimated. That would put Wanggaard’s annual pension at around $33,000. In an interview, Wanggaard conceded this was an accurate estimate.

Wanggaard is now double dipping from the government, earning $49,943 as a legislator plus $88 “per diem” for each day the legislature is in session. (The average legislator earns an additional $7,700 per year from this.) He could also earn an additional pension, but this would require him to freeze his retiree pay and Wanggaard says he preferred to continue collecting on his pension, so he is forgoing all state benefits that accrue to legislators.

All told, Wanggaard has done well as a government worker. Yet he supported Act 10, which cut back such benefits for the many public workers in Wisconsin. Wanggaard says he actually worked closely with Gov. Scott Walker to modify the bill and make its language less draconian. “I looked at the original bill and said ‘oh my goodness,’” he says. Whatever changes Wanggaard championed, the final legislation has put many public worker unions out of business.

“A lot of people saw that as a betrayal of his union roots,” says Randolph Brandt, a retired Racine Journal Times editor who helped lead the Committee to Recall Wanggaard. Brandt wrote an impassioned op ed for his old newspaper accusing Wanggaard of “laughing at…the citizens of Racine” and imploring voters to recall Wanggaard and punish him for “his hypocrisy.” Yep, you can be a lot more hyberbolic once you’ve retired from the newspaper biz.

Wanggaard has called the measures to trim worker benefits and collective bargaining “reforms that are working and saving taxpayers money.”  As to Brandt’s claim that his stance today is hypocritical, Wanggaard says its a different time, and the era of double digit increases in health insurances requires governments to rein in costs. Still, that’s a curious stance from someone who has lifetime, government-paid health insurance.

Wangaard’s old police union is endorsing his opponent John Lehman. According to Todd Hoover, president of the Racine Police Association,  their decision came because Wanggard favored measures that have restricted collective bargaining for police, and because Wanggaard’s support for reduced revenue sharing to cities will result in layoffs of police officers. When Wanggard was a police officer, Hoover says, “we had some pretty decent benefits. Now they’re disintegrating.”

Wanggaard is one of four state senators facing a recall this June, and his district is the one where Democrats have the best chance of scoring a victory. Lehman, who had held the district for one term (2006-2010), lost a close race to Wanggaard, who took office in 2011.  This has been a swing district that is fairly evenly divided: in 2010 Walker carried it with 54 percent of the vote, but in 2008 John McCain won just 44 percent of the vote against Barack Obama. A Democratic poll by Public Policy Polling, taken in mid April, showed a statistical dead heat, with Wanggaard at 48 percent and Lehman at 46 percent. (The margin of error was nearly 4 percent.)

One reason Lehman is running stronger than other recall challengers is because he has by far the strongest support among Democrats. The PPP poll showed he had the support of 86 percent of Democrats in the district, suggesting a very polarized race.

There’s been little coverage of the campaign, mostly some reporting by Fox 6 in Milwaukee, which hasn’t touched on Wanggaard’s background as a union rep. But that issue has certainly been bubbling up in Racine.

Lehman has accused Walker and the Republicans of “rewarding the rich” while “union-busting.” He calls Wanggaard’s policies “extreme.” Wanggaard told Fox TV that “John wants to expand everything and he wants to go back to the failed policies that he was a partial architect of with the Doyle budget before.”

Wanggaard has so far raised more campaign donations — about $151,000, compared to nearly $104,000 for Lehman (of which $11,300 came from unions). If money is the measure of who will win the June elections, it could be a big day for Republicans.

Eyes on Milwaukee

This week’s Eyes on Milwaukee column explores Herb Kohl’s commitment to a new arena, the idea of another downtown strip club, Northwestern Mutual’s potential new downtown building, and a whole lot more.

Herb Kohl’s Arena Commitment

At his annual end of the season press conference, team owner Herb Kohl announced his commitment to helping finance a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks. Kohl got a lot of attention for committing to help finance a new arena, but avoided getting into details. It’s important to note that even though new stadiums are often built with substantial public investment, the teams themselves often contribute to the facility. This is no more clear than in Minnesota, where the Minnesota Vikings’ team share is one of the hot button issues for their new facility.

While Kohl said his commitment would be “not insignificant,” it’s unreasonable to hold our breath assuming he’ll pay for the majority of a new facility himself. Milwaukee got lucky once with Jane and Lloyd Pettit paying for the entire Bradley Center (with the hope of landing an NHL team – which is part of the reason the facility has so quickly become outdated), but it’s pretty clear that won’t happen again.

For a point of reference on current arena costs, the newest arena in the NBA, the Amway Center in Orlando, cost $480 million. I would guess a new facility in Milwaukee would cost less than that, but it’s not going to come in under $100 million like the Bradley Center did.

All in all, the most significant thing Herb Kohl did is start the public push for a new arena. We should expect whomever owns the Bucks to contribute to the costs of a new arena. That said, Kohl’s move of publicly announcing his commitment was certainly a shrewd public relations move.

We will certainly discuss this topic at length in the future. We’ve even in the past discussed tearing down the Bradley Center for a new facility.

A Second Downtown Milwaukee Strip Club

Silk owner Jon Ferraro is back with another license application for a strip club on Old World Third Street. He is applying at the same location he previously applied at, 730 N. Old World Third St., Of note, Jon Ferraro’s lawsuit against the city regarding his previous application for a strip club in this space (in 2010) is still pending. I assume the two are related, and I’m pretty sure we will find out soon how.

It’s important to note that if granted, Silk East would be the second strip club downtown. Art’s Performing Center is located at 144 E. Juneau Ave. Although only garnering 1 and a half stars on Yelp, Art’s clearly hasn’t damaged the image of downtown, and there isn’t any reason to believe Silk East would either. Aspiring to be like downtown Minneapolis and its numerous strip clubs on the other hand, that’s a bad idea.

Northwestern Mutual’s Possible New Downtown Building Staying Quiet

The Quiet Company has succeeded in keeping their development of a new facility to house hundreds of employees quiet. As a reminder, Northwestern Mutual announced in September of 2011 that they would demolish the 16-story brown office building located on the southeast corner of Mason and Cass streets because of looming long-term maintenance costs. In December it was announced they would buy the building located at 733 N. Van Buren Street from Joel Lee’s Van Buren Building Co, with the intent to close on the purchase in 2012 and move employees in 2013. The newly acquired building, formerly home of Cramer-Krasselt, was assessed at $4,502,000 in 2011.

Will the company stay and keep this batch of employees downtown? That remains to be seen, as the firm indicated they’re looking at their options for a new building downtown (where it currently has employees 3,000) or relocating the employees to the Franklin campus (2,000 existing employees). With the failure of Mayor Barrett to fit a square peg into a round hole by getting Kohl’s to move to the Park East, expect the city to throw everything they can at Northwestern Mutual to make sure their new building is downtown.

If the City fails to land the new building it will be quite ironic to see the Downtown Transit Center redeveloped while Northwestern Mutual replaces their 500,000 square foot building with a parking lot or empty park.

Facade Repair

Jeff Sherman notes the new “facade” given to the covered buildings on the 600 block of N. Broadway, just south of Wisconsin Ave. The buildings were formerly covered by an ugly wood facade, but it’s now painted to resemble resemble a building. While the new “facade” is a significant improvement, it’s a shame it took years to come together, and a real tenant would certainly be far more desired.

Sherman noted the new Marriott Hotel under construction a block away, but even more appreciative of the improvement to this empty building are likely the owners of the Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel, which is under construction on the same block, will occupy the rehabbed Loyalty Building. The website for the Hilton Garden Inn is now online.

As far as facade upgrades in the area go, the pair of buildings around the corner on Wisconsin Ave take the cake for an improvement (all part of the same parcel as the hidden the Broadway buildings). Ultimately though, all are a hollow effort until actual tenants move in.

For what it’s worth I’m also eager to see renovations get underway to improve the Iron Block Building at the corner of Water and Wisconsin. The Iron Block Building is one of the historic buildings that help give downtown Milwaukee its charming character.

Development News

The Milwaukee County Transportation, Public Works, and Transit Committee unanimously authorized the Director of the Department of Transportation to declare surplus and offer for sale the Downtown Transit Center today. This move keeps the redevelopment of the Downtown Transit Center on track. The authorization will now go before the full Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. Of note, the proceeds from the sale of the land will need to go for capital projects for transit in Milwaukee County, not for operating funds.

Openings and Closings

Cafe Centraal is expanding east. The Lowlands Group restaurant will occupy the space immediately to its east on E. Lincoln Ave that formerly housed an acupuncture and massage therapy business.

City.Net Cafe is coming soon to E. Wisconsin Avenue just east of Broadway. The original City.Net Cafe is open at 7211 W. Burgleigh Street. The website for the existing cafe is CityNetJazz.com, not City.Net. The cafe is owned by Sam Belton.

The Dogg House on Jefferson Street will be short-lived, at least for now. At the first regular meeting of the Licenses Committee during the current Milwaukee Common Council session, owner Mazen Muna was informed that he has likely been operating illegally (despite his understanding that the Health Dept had cleared his operation). Muna currently operates four other locations within the City of Milwaukee. This only goes to show how the City’s licensing process is at times quite confusing and ripe for overhaul. As of lunch today, the restaurant is still open presumably using some form of double jeopardy defense.

Greek Village Gyros intends to open at 1888 N. Humboldt Ave. the location was formerly home to Meglio Pizzeria. The registered agent on the liquor license application is George Dimitropoulos.

O’Lydia’s Bar and Grill, 338 S. 1st Street (formerly Slim McGinn’s), is opening an art gallery on its second floor. OnMilwaukee has more.

Rumor Lounge, an upscale lounge, has had their liquor license approved at Monday’s Licenses Committee meeting. The lounge will open at the corner of Pittsburgh Avenue and 1st Street in Vetter Denk’s headquarters (161 South 1st Street).

The Twisted Fisherman Crab Shack also had their liquor license approved at Monday’s Licenses Committee meeting. The Crab Shack is the latest venture from Russ Davis and will open in a converted warehouse in the Menomonee Valley. Davis also has operated Rio West Cantina, Lakefront Brewery Palm Garden, Riverwalk Boat Tours and the Hubbard Park Lodge. He formerly operated Cafe Vecchio and later The Red Accordian in the space currently occupied by The Loaded Slate.

Eyes on Milwaukee

Eyes on Milwaukee this week focuses on the committee appointments by Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines, Supervisor Haas’ efforts for a Milwaukee County attraction pass, the restaurant coming to The Moderne, and more.

Zielinski to Chair Licenses Committee

Common Council President Willie Hines committee appointments have been released. In a surprising twist, Alderman Zielinski has been appointed Chairman of the Licenses Committee. His appointment comes as a surprise given the number of controversial licensing issues Zielinski was involved in over the past four years (A.K. Food Mart being the most prominent). Zielinski could certainly get by all of that to become a good Licenses Committee chair (as his predecessor Alderman Jim Bohl was), but he’ll need to remain cool in the hot seat during the committee’s notoriously long meetings. Conduct similar to that exhibited by Zielinski during the Community & Economic Development Committee on September 13th, 2010 during the Zielinski – Davis “I’m the chair” debate (see the 108:30 mark in the video) won’t get the job done.

Bohl to Chair Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee

My predictions for the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee chairmanship to go to Alderman Willie Wade were incorrect. Wade will remain the Vice Chair of the committee, with Alderman Jim Bohl apparently executing a successful horse trade to end up as the new ZND chair. Bohl was previously chair of the Licenses Committee. Despite representing one of Milwaukee’s most suburban districts, Bohl will likely make a good chair of the powerful zoning committee. His experience as Licenses Committee chair, showed that he controls the meeting, and is fair and pragmatic.

Donovan Removed as Public Safety Chair, Witkowski Appointed

Alderman Bob Donovan will no longer serve as the chair of the Public Safety Committee. Donovan, who is well known by the local media for his frequent press releases, has historically been one of the Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Fire Departments biggest allies on the Council. Replacing Donovan is long-time public servant Alderman Terry Witkowski, who was a City of Milwaukee employee for 31 years. According to his official biography Witkowski was the “longtime Safety Director for the Milwaukee Safety Commission and the Milwaukee Police Department.” Most recently, Witkowski has attempted to rework Milwaukee’s historic preservation laws and rename the Milwaukee Fire Department to Milwaukee Emergency Response Services to better reflect the work of the department.

Milwaukee County Attraction Pass

Supervisor Jason Haas, through public meetings and his blog, has begun leading the charge for the “SuperPass.” Originally a campaign idea, the pass would create a single form of admission for multiple venues around Milwaukee County. While the idea is already done in many cities, Milwaukee County has yet to see a coherent strategy to encourage people to attend many of the County-owned attractions. Here’s to hoping the Supervisor is able to find a way to improve the bottom lines of many of Milwaukee’s cultural amenities, while at the same time driving greater and more frequent attendance by visitors and residents alike.

The Moderne Lands Carson’s Prime Steaks and Famous BBQ as Tenant

Unlike many new mixed-use buildings constructed in Milwaukee, The Moderne won’t be subject to an empty first floor for the first couple of years. According to a story broke by BizTimes this morning, Carson’s Prime Steaks and Famous BBQ will open their third location on the first floor of The Moderne. The restaurant will seat between 125 to 150 people, with about two-thirds of the 8,000 square foot space being used for the kitchen. Rinka Chung Architecture, who designed The Moderne, will also design the restaurant space.

According to Carson’s owner Dean Carson ”Rick is a persistent person in every sense of the word.” This certainly accurately reflects Rick Barrett’s struggle to convert his model unit in orange shipping containers into an actual building.

Development News

An industrial building at the northern end of the Riverwest neighborhood has been sold to Johnson Bros. Beverages Inc.

Chris Abele announced at his inauguration that one of the primary focuses of his first full term will be on the development of the Park East and the underutilized Downtown Transit Center.

Sciortino’s expansion was recommended for approval by the City Plan Commission. The Brady Street bakery intends to tear down and expand into the house immediately south of the current facility on Humboldt Avenue.

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s lease at 223 W. Pittsburgh Avenue for the School of Freshwater Sciences and College of Engineering and Applied Science has been approved by the state Building Commission. With that the Water Council’s efforts to develop a water cluster at the Reed Street Yards site are one step closer to reality.

Openings and Closings

Pop-up stores are set to come to the Shops of Grand Avenue.

The Triangle, 135 E. National Ave, will close on Friday according to Michael Horne.

Yo Factory has finally opened at 2203 N. Farwell Avenue. Stop on in for some frozen yogurt.

Photo of the Week

Windows on the Milwaukee River by John December