The Future of the Milwaukee Coast Guard Station
The Daily Reporter has an article that takes a look at the recent events surrounding the proposed demolition of the Milwaukee Coast Guard Station near McKinley Pier.
It’s sad to see a landmark go, but the building is reportedly past the state of cost-effective repair. Most importantly, it’s essential that what replaces it encourages the embracing of the lakefront. The planned pavilion seems to largely accomplish this goal.
I think there is a still a market for a commercial development, even with the nearby Alterra. One that both embraces the lake and the nearby Lincoln Memorial Drive.
You may ask why I’m so in favor of development with a planned park already on the drawing board, but I honestly think we have plenty of open space on our lakefront already. We need something to draw people to that open space outside of holiday weekends, and environmentally-responsible development would help achieve this. Alterra is a great start, but it needs to be paired with something else. Barnes & Noble with an all glass lake facing side? A clothing store? Parks are only useful if there are people there to use them, and all too often I think our Lake Michigan coastline is underutilized. We want people to have a reason to walk and enjoy the lake, not to drive by it at 45 miles an hour.
In my experience, whenever the weather is nice, all the paths through the park are chock full of people, from families out for a walk to people running and biking.
Well there were multiple mistakes with this project.
It was awarded to a group that had little chance of obtaining the money needed to rebuild the structure and seemed like an odd use. It sure would of been nice had it been converted to some sort of activated space. Oscars? Bella’s or maybe a Cops… oh well.
Yeah the indian museum or what not was not really a good idea for the site. That might have been better served in a blighted building in a high foot traffic area.
Bellas or Cops, that would have been cool.