Milwaukee Public Library Recommends Development Partner for Mill Road Library

MILWAUKEE – At a library meeting last night, the Milwaukee Public Library’s (MPL) Building and Development Committee (Committee) voted to recommend a development partner for the redevelopment of the Mill Road library, 6431 N. 76^th St., to the Library Board of Trustees for approval on Tuesday, December 16^th at 4:30 pm.

The Committee considered three proposals for redevelopment of the Mill Road library at a meeting last night. The developer team of Maures Development Group, Common Bond and Engberg Anderson was selected by the Committee as a partner in the redevelopment of Mill Road library. Find more information about the proposals here: www.mpl.org/about/library_development.php.

The Committee also voted not to recommend either of the development proposals being considered for the Forest Home library. MPL will move expeditiously towards a replacement of the library and plans to discuss next steps and gather more information​.

The recommended proposal for Mill Road library calls for moving the library to a city-owned site located at 7717 W. Good Hope Rd.  The proposed mixed-use building would include a 15,000 sq ft library or larger, 46 units of affordable housing, on-site parking for residents and library users, potential commercial space and an outdoor green space along a highly visible and accessible commercial corridor.

This plan continues the successful replacement of the Villard Avenue and East branch libraries with new mixed-use buildings. The Milwaukee Public Library’s Villard Square Branch opened in October 2011.  The new East Branch opened on November 22, 2014 drawing more than 2,000 visitors on opening day.

Mayor Tom Barrett, the Milwaukee Common Council and the Library Board of Trustees have identified $18 million for the library redevelopment project. MPL anticipates spending $4.5 million on each of the four libraries slated for redevelopment – Forest Home, Mill Road, Capitol and Martin Luther King. In all, five branch libraries will be renovated or replaced. The Tippecanoe Library will be fully renovated, but remain in the same building. The renovation is currently in the design phase and will begin construction in early 2015.  The total amount budgeted for the five libraries in $22.4 million. By 2020, MPL will have replaced or updated the entire branch system with 21^st century, technology-rich facilities many of which will be part of a multi-use facility.

About Mill Road Library

Mill Road Library, located at 6431 N. 76th St., opened in 1970. The site it occupies was once in the Town of Granville, a German settlement. The Mill Road Library is the only full‐service MPL facility serving a large geographical section of the northwest side of Milwaukee (an estimated 26 square miles). The facility is scheduled for replacement due to an outdated HVAC system and inefficient circular building design.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.