Weekly Milwaukee Development Bookmarks
Articles from the past week covering development in Milwaukee. DailyReporter.com JS Online: County jobs effort overlaps city’s, some say JS Online: Property values inch up OnMilwaukee.com Marketplace: Pragmatic pushes the envelope on green construction Yunker will succeed Evenson at helm of SEWRPC – Small Business Times JS Online: Bradley Center merger revisited JS Online: Doyle looks to spare road work Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Sells 2034 E. Ivanhoe – CoStar Group Associated CEO: headquarters stays in Green Bay – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Development Forum will feature municipal planners – Small Business Times Deal of the week – Small Business Times JS Online: Bradley Center won’t sell name JS Online: Letter criticizes naming plan JS Online: MATC weighs closing business incubators Google, public transit team up – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: JS Online: Engineers remain hot in job market
Apr 28th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Breaking Down the 2008-2012 Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee
The 2008-2012 Common Council committee appointments were announced this week and it appears Common Council President Willie Hines, Jr. put together a qualified group to sit on the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee. Alderman James Witkowiak, Chair Alderman Willie Wade, V-C Alderman Michael Murphy Alderman Robert Bauman Alderman T. Anthony Zielinski The biggest change comes at the top of the committee where Alderman Witkowiak will be replacing out going Alderman D’Amato as the committee chairman. Alderman Witkowiak is a good choice for this role because the 5th Ward is starting to take off and the new Chairman will play a large role in shaping future development in the district. Additionally he has extensive experience working on neighborhood issues, from his time as Chairman of the License Committee, that should translate well to ZND. This ability to work with neighborhoods will be critical to the success of the committee due to the consistent need to work on neighborhood complaints surrounding development projects. Returning members Alderman Wade, Alderman Murphy, and Alderman Bauman have not necessarily always agreed on issues but generally work well together and come at an issue with solid arguments. Alderman Wade has shown he understand the value of density and of growing the city through development. Alderman Murphy’s knowledge of passed Common Council actions and his work on water related issues makes him a vital member of this committee. As the City of Milwaukee moves forward on mass transit efforts such as the KRM project, BRT, or the downtown streetcar effort Alderman Bauman’s history with mass transit issues should also be invaluable. Although Alderman Zielinski is new to ZND he brings a background in environmental efforts that could lead the committee to explore more green based zoning initiatives. As a group it will be interesting to watch their handling of projects as they have the characteristics to continue the steady march of redevelopment the City of Milwaukee has seen in recent years.
Apr 27th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Bicycle Drive-Thru In Portland, Would It Work In Milwaukee?
Okay, I must confess, I was about to write a blog post about this very thing. I was going to state how given the right building, someone like Alterra could pull this off (because biking with coffee would be fun!). Then I came back to reality and realized that the idea was fundamentally flawed. Drive-thrus are about as anti-community as can be. Sure eventually the teller hands you your food and you smile back at them, but that’s about as social as the process gets. A line of bikes would be marginally better than Toyotas, but still far from perfect. Going inside a store fosters communication. It encourages randomly talking to people. You’re probably not going to become friends with the other people in the store, but you’ll recognize them elsewhere. The faceless city you live in becomes just a little less anonymous by avoiding drive-thrus. And in a world that is increasingly detached from the random people around us, every random connection helps.
Apr 26th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Kevin Miyazki and the Whitney Biennial
The March 24, 2008 issue of The New Yorker Magazine has a cover illustration depicting a mug shot of a guy caught with his pants down. His jacket is brown, his tie is striped in red and white, and even though the image ends at his shoulders and ankles, just enough is revealed so you get the drift. The biggest clue is the blue boxer shorts emblazoned with multiple images of “The Great Seal Of The State Of NewYork.” The guy’s legs are hairy, his knees are knobby and his black and white socks are held in place by black garters. It’s all the crafty work of artist Mark Ulriksen, a regular contributor to the magazine, who will be part of a group exhibition opening March 29th in San Francisco. Another regular, artist Bruce McCall, focuses on images of Americans and their mania for automobiles. His work will open on April 1, with an exhibition at the James Goodman gallery in New York. The magazine’s sensational art critic, Peter Schjeldahl, will launch a collection of art criticism in May, aptly titled “Let’s See.” If you want to read his take on the 2008 Whitney Biennial, visit The New Yorker online. My friend, photographer Kevin J. Miyazaki, jump-started his career by taking assignments from Milwaukee Magazine. He was at the Whitney Biennial, but found it lacking and instead took a great photograph of a ceiling fixture in the building. His new website gives rise to hope for website design. It’s sparse and elegant as the work of Miyazaki is sparse and elegant. You can visit him online, too. Recently, he won a Nohl Fellowship award in the “emerging” artists category. What a laugh. From a standpoint of competence, he’s way beyond “emerging,” but I guess because he’s still relatively young, he was more or less pigeon-holed. That said, $5,000 is no small potatoes, though he should have been bumped up to the “established” artist slot and the $15,000 bonanza. You’ll be able to view more of his work in the Fall of 2008 when Inova showcases the work of the award recipients. Miyazaki’s work will shine.
Apr 26th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Setting the stage
Jeffrey M. Kenney is an employee of Katie Gingrass Gallery, and even though his artist statement reads “Jeffrey M. Kenney,” you can just call him “Jeff.” I saw two of his photographs recently when I stopped in to write a Shepherd Express review of an exhibition at Gingrass Gallery. They were not part of the show, but I ended up standing in front of them anyway. He handed me the March 2008 issue of Vital Source – he did the cover art – then he toured me through the gallery. You can view a broader sampling of his work when Urban Perspectives opens on May 2. When I phoned him to set up an interview, he told me he’d just moved from Bremen Street to “more shrunken” third floor quarters in a majestic house on Humboldt. We agree to meet on a Monday, late in the afternoon – Mondays mean freedom for Jeff, and freedom means time to develop ideas in his new space. I warn him to not rush around and tidy up before my arrival. “I doubt if that’s even possible at this point,” he replies. March 31: Rain with fog. I brace myself for a climb to the third floor. Jeff leads the way up the narrow stairs to his apartment. Plaster walls, elegant coved ceiling, deep window sills, original radiators, three rooms and a spacious bath, all recently updated with new appliances. The red light on the oven indicates it’s baking something – a miniature papier-mâché sculpture he intends to incorporate in his art. Jeff is a twin (his brother is a musician living in Austin, Texas), born in Viroqua, Wisconsin on January 20, 1981 – the day of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as President of the United States. He doesn’t have cable, so he haunts Peoples Bookstore and Riverwest Film & Video. He’s currently reading works by French writer Paul Virilio, who studies war and the speed of our current society. One of his favorite films is The Magician by George Melies, who shaped early cinema from the late 1890s through the 1920s. “They resemble one-minute magic tricks,” Jeff observes. Illusion interests this artist, who once had a summer job in the Dells as a videographer for a magician. “I also mowed his lawn,” he says. His father is a pilot and his mom is helping with an environmental clean-up at former site used to produce ammunition during the Second World War. If you’ve ever visited the fantastic acres of Dr. Evermore’s “Forevertron” sculptures near New Freedom, Wisconsin, it’s directly across the road. He graduated from MIAD in 2003, with a BFA in Sculpture. Back then, he was just beginning to explore and develop his current arsenal of ideas. Before graduating, he studied at S.A.C.I. in Florence, Italy, and labored there as a teaching assistant. We chat about the problems young artists encounter when trying to price their work for specific markets. I remind him that $50 seems to be the going price around here, and […]
Apr 25th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Two one-act dramas
Underground art institutions Insurgent Theatre and Alchemist Theatre have teamed up for a double feature that explores the darker side of human emotion. The two shorts, split by an intermission, run no longer than an average feature-length drama. The presentation runs through May 4. Insurgent opens the program with Cracks in the Floor, a compelling naturalistic drama starring Tim Chrapko and Tracy Doyle as siblings who live above a man running a Christian cult (Jason Hames). Doyle’s performance is inexplicably captivating given the passivity of her character while Chrapko’s best work lies in unspoken movements – in the title moment, for instance, when he peels back the carpeting to reveal light shining through a crack in the apartment floor. In a brilliant and subtle statement about the nature of observation, Cracks in the Floor turns mirrors upon mirrors as the audience watches Chrapko watch those who are watching Hames. The play was developed in Insurgent’s workshop and through intensive one-on-one character development with director Wes Tank. The resulting short is by no means a ground-breaking work, but the process contributed to producing a profoundly moody piece that drifts across the stage with a casually dazzling darkness. In Alchemist’s psychological thriller 31 – set along US Highway 31 – Kirk Thomsen plays a reluctant forensic pathologist investigating a string of murders with Aaron Kopec as the womanizing police investigator working alongside him. Kopec also designed the set, which is impressively detailed for such a small space. Liz Shipe picks up dual roles as the forensic pathologist’s wife and a waitress at the diner where the two investigators meet. The plot is derivative of Hollywood crime dramas and draws quite close to Christopher Nolan’s indie classic Memento, but the ensemble manages to deliver interesting, clever performances. Shipe and Kopec’s moments together as Investigator and Waitress are some of the most novel in the play. Thomsen’s believable performance tempers the pathologist’s uneasiness with an understated professional detachment. The story of 31 ends with a video segment which fails to tie together an otherwise satisfying first outing for Alchemist Theatre Productions. VS Cracks In The Floor and 31 run through May 4 at the Alchemist Theatre. For more information, visit Insurgent and/or Alchemist online.
Apr 25th, 2008 by Russ Bickerstaff
Wind Power in Lake Michigan
Wind Energy – A New Kind of Power Generation in Panama Originally uploaded by thinkpanama Ryan Horton of the Public Policy Forum took a look at the possibility of wind turbines being built in Lake Michigan about 18 miles from Milwaukee. Horton examines the dollars and cents of the issue and briefly addresses the economic attractiveness boost it might give. He looks at how businesses might be enticed to move to Milwaukee because of the long-term competitive advantage wind power might generate. I think he fails to consider the potential marketing power of the turbines though. What sets Milwaukee apart from Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis? A massive wind power installation could be something that encourages recent college grads to look for employment in Milwaukee. I’m not saying people will move in mass to live in a city powered partially by wind power, but I do think college STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) graduates will be more inclined to come to Milwaukee over other comparable cities if there is a giant wind farm here. Milwaukee isn’t going to be Chicago simply because of scale, but when comparing it with other fresh coast cities a massive wind power installation could convince some that we’re cleaner than others. Milwaukee is currently an after-thought to a lot of college graduates when they look to apply for jobs out-of-state from where they graduated. We have lots of employers here that seem to be in constant need of new talent (Rockwell, Johnson Controls, Direct Supply, Northwestern Mutual, etc), why not build something that not only will help lower their costs long-term, but that also makes Milwaukee itself more appealing? Milwaukee could only benefit from an influx of engineers.
Apr 25th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Friday, 25. April 2008 Photos
Park East Square The North End The Edge
Apr 25th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Wisconsin art and artists
From March 27 – August 2008, the work of Milwaukee-based artist Santiago Cucullu will be installed in the Schroeder Galleria at the Milwaukee Art Museum. This is a long narrow space flooded with light from the west, and should work well with the large wall drawings constructed of sculptures, contact paper and watercolors. Please note that I refer to Mr. Cucullu as “Milwaukee-based,” and I do so with a specific goal in mind, i.e. to quiet the thrum of those who paw the ground whenever MAM dares to feature the work of artists not born in Wisconsin, raised in Wisconsin or shaped their careers in Wisconsin. Cucullu was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (in 1969) and art-educated in Minneapolis and Connecticut. He’s exhibited on both coasts and at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. His is a global vision. Regional art isn’t being deep-sixed, in fact, it has found a home at the Museum of Wisconsin Arts (MWA) in West Bend, a venue that has ambitious plans for expansion. It’s a bit unclear at this point if MWA will also include artists with no ties to Wisconsin, but I venture to guess they will. I can think of no good reason why they shouldn’t if the quality is high and their mission is to educate and illuminate. The Milwaukee Art Museum’s mission is quality work, no matter where that work is produced. Nothing is ever perfect, but their position strikes me as reasonable rather than confrontational. It’s ridiculous to imagine they base their curatorial decisions on where artists hail from. From April 17-July 20, MAM features A Revolutionary in Milwaukee: The Designs of George Mann Niedecken. He’s said to have given dreary Milwaukee interiors a new slant, a fresh perspective culled from his years in Europe. Meanwhile, I’m waiting for a list of “Wisconsin” artists who are part of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s permanent collection. I’m wondering myself who will turn up on the list. MAM just purchased their 8th piece of work by former Milwaukeean, Michelle Grabner. That’s good for starters.
Apr 24th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Open House for UWM Transit Planning Project
Brewing Grounds 2008 N. Farwell Milwaukee, WI 53202 More Information
Apr 24th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Eye of the Beholder
When it comes to art, we’re all experts. To paraphrase a wise Supreme Court justice, good art is difficult to define but we know it when we see it. Here in Milwaukee, where we have an inferiority complex about so many things, nothing seems to incite a contentious debate more than the subject of public art. The most recent example of the incendiary nature of this topic is, of course, the Bronze Fonz. For those of you who don’t remember or weren’t paying attention, Visit Milwaukee, the quasi-public entity formally known as the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau, has raised private funds to commission a life-sized sculpture of the Arthur Fonzarelli character from the Happy Days television show to be placed along the city’s Riverwalk. This ignited a firestorm of controversy throughout the Milwaukee art community. Some arts advocates were outraged that the project circumvented the formal approval process for public art in support of something politely described as schlock. Dave Fantle, the Visit Milwaukee impresario behind this undertaking, brushed aside these concerns and insisted that the intent of the sculpture was not to create art but to add an attraction that would draw tourists and other visitors who fondly remember the iconic Fonzie and might want to have their picture taken next to it. My unremarkable reaction to this debate, apparently consistent with my Libran nature, was to sympathize with both sides. What struck me as odd about the proposed sculpture was that it seemed to conflict with Visit Milwaukee’s oft-stated commitment to convince the world that our city had evolved beyond its “Laverne and Shirley” image. Both Fantle and Dean Amhaus, his colleague at Spirit of Milwaukee, another organization dedicated to promoting the city’s image, stressed upon me this goal when I first met them two or three years ago. I like Dave and Dean but I never felt that the image associated with the television show was entirely negative. If, however, you want to disassociate the city from its past, then it is best not to refer to it at all. I was amazed that at nearly every ribbon cutting or news conference announcing some forward looking endeavor, some official would proudly declare that the event proved that Milwaukee “had moved beyond its Laverne and Shirley image.” So that quote would invariably show up in the media coverage serving to keep the connection alive. I love nostalgia and it’s only a television comedy which, you gotta remember, almost always have goofball characters who don’t necessarily represent the essence of the city the show is set in. Do Joey of Friends or George, Elaine or Kramer of Seinfeld make you think that all New Yorkers are shallow and stupid? Or Horshack of Welcome Back, Kotter? Or Ralph and Norton of The Honeymooners? Come on! Fantle’s reaction is that the Fonz represents cool while Laverne and Shirley and their buddies Lennie and Squiggy are square and lame. Whatever. Milwaukee, of course, has been through debates about public art […]
Apr 23rd, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Finally Activity at Park East Square
On December 21st 2007 RSC & Associates signed an agreement to purchase a parcel of land, known as Block 26, in the Park East Freeway corridor from Milwaukee County. It was believed at the time of the sale that RSC & Associates would break ground on two new hotels within a 90 days. Understandably development projects take a time and as this project nears its third year, finally there is a small sign of progress at the site. RSC & Associates have begun erecting the construction fence. Although this project has had a troubled history with its lengthy delays, numerous changes, and squabbling in the press, potentially this project will be getting in the ground and the next development in the Park East will begin to rise this summer.
Apr 23rd, 2008 by Dave Reid
