McCain gives a thumbs up to torture

Pothole Patrols Starting Early

Worried about all kinds of potholes you’re seeing (and feeling) on the road?  The Milwaukee Department of Public Works is starting early this year to repair potholes with seasonal workers.  Cyclists and motorists alike rejoice. As a side note, it’ll cost $120,000 out of the city’s contingency fund.  I don’t drive (read: ride) enough, and haven’t been biking lately to know if this is money well spent.

Higher Education Expanding in Downtown Milwaukee

Both Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have been working on multiple expansions within downtown Milwaukee. Marquette University has two major initiatives including the $100 million Discovery Learning Complex and the new Marquette University Law School. The Discovery Learning Complex will house the College of Engineering on recently acquired land at the 1600 block of West Wisconsin Avenue. This effort has received a series of large donations including $50 million from one family. Additionally Marquette University has received large gifts including $30 million from Joseph J. Zilber to support the development of the new Marquette University Law School at 13th and Clybourn. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee intends to open a new School of Public Health on land near the Brewery development. This initiative has received a $10 million gift from Joseph J. Zilber to push the project forward and insure it is developed downtown. These universities investment in downtown Milwaukee indicates a growing demand for higher education opportunities within the city. In apparent response to these expansion two new student housing developments have recently brought forward. First The Scion Group proposed and addition to 2040 Lofts that will have 100 rental units to be built on an existing surface parking lot to the north of 2040 Lofts. This project focuses on attracting Marquette students and building on the success of the existing 2040 Lofts. The second project announced by New Vision Development Co. is estimated at $75 million and it will be located at N. 6th and W. State streets. Although it will generally target MATC students, it will be open to students from Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as well. It is clear that as these universities continue to expand downtown they will continue to bring additional projects to downtown Milwaukee.

City Plan Commission Approves Downer Avenue Plan

The first item on the agenda, Resolution 070963, was the heavily debated Downer Avenue Redevelopment Phase II project. The resolution would recommend a change of zoning from General Planned Development to Detailed Planned Development and include a 7-story hotel, an 11-story residential tower, 5 town homes, and a 4-story addition to the Mulkhern building. Architect Scott Kindness indicated that the Chancery building currently retains only about 50% of its original facade and that they “plan on taking down the entire building to allow this to happen” but that they will “rebuild the 1936 version of the Chancery building”. Clearly he was referring to rebuilding the facade along the first two floors as they will add additional floors with a setback allowing the street level massing to appear similar to its original design. He also indicated the project will most likely break ground in the Spring of 2009 as both pre-sales for the condominiums and finding the operator for the hotel will take time and are dependent on approvals. Architect Matt Rinka explained that the redevelopment of the Mulkhern building would include the 4-story addition, demolishing the drive through and ramp, creation of an urban garden, and will convert the existing upper floor to medical uses. Despite multiple iterations, and numerous meetings opposition to this change in zoning was brought by local community members who have fought this project from its beginning. Alderman Michael D’Amato pointed out that that “the use is consistent with the General Planned Development, the height is consistent with the General Planned Development, and the massing is consistent with the General Planned Development” further he indicated the plan is simply receiving opposition from the same neighborhood members who opposed this project from the beginning indicating that taking further input was just a delaying tactic and at this point served no purpose. He appealed to the commission that “the anchors on Downer Avenue are dying” and that “I hope you will finally allow progress on Downer Avenue.” The Commission took his advice and recommended it for approval with the conditions that the developer works to shorten the balcony and continues to work with staff on improvements. Another item of particular interest, Resolution 071292, pitted groups of citizens with positive intentions against each other. Specifically groups representing low income housing for the homeless and mentally ill ran into opposition from green and bicyclist enthusiasts due to the site location. The property in question was a city owned lot near the Kinnickinnic River that various groups had been planning to use for bike trails and green space. Alderman Tony Zielinski appeared upset over the proposed use of land and went on to say “we are setting a dangerous precedent by developing our green space”. The commission listened to his advice and held the resolution asking the Department of City Development to work with the developer to look for another site or improve the facility’s design to work better with the trail.

Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee

Location: Room 301-B, City Hall Agenda

Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee

Location: Room 301-B, City Hall Agenda

VITAL’s 6th Birthday Funhouse!

VITAL’s 6th Birthday Funhouse!

It’s VITAL’s 6th birthday, and we’re celebrating with a coloring party for grownups only, Saturday February 23 at MOCT Bar, 240 E. Pittsburgh Avenue on the border of Milwaukee’s Third and Fifth Wards. Join us from 9 pm to close for no cover, spins from Chicago DJs E6 and Matt Roan and our beloved Diamonds, plus much more! —Goodie bags for the first 100 guests, stuffed with candy, custom VITAL crayons and trinkets from our sponsors. Six lucky bags will contain a golden ticket worth a DVD set from HBO! —$3 Jack Daniels drink specials —A coloring contest with two lucky winners selected at random from all entries to win 6 months worth of Time Warner Cable’s “All The Best” – high speed internet, premium cable and digital phone service! Winner announced at midnight, so come early and color like it’s 1999. —A giant birthday card for you to decorate and sign. We get to keep it at the end of the night. We’ll put it up in the office by the bar. You can come see it at our next Gallery Night event in April. –Plus other surprises we can’t mention just yet… Want to wave to the crowd from above? {encode=”aelliott@vitalsourcemag.com” title=”Email us here”} for your chance to party with the VIPs. You’ll enjoy two free cocktails plus tasty hors d’oeuvre and all-evening access to the upper deck. Be sure to write “VIP” in the subject line of your email.

Smart Cars Selling Like Hot Cakes

The Smart Car already has a year waiting list in Milwaukee, with over 400 orders being placed by February 1st. The first dealership was opened by Bergstrom next to their Hummer dealership at 11330 West Metro Boulevard near the intersection of Good Hope Road, Highway 145, Highway 45 North. You may laugh at the irony of a Hummer dealership next to a Smart Car dealership, but it’s nothing short of the principles of natural capitalism at work. As you may remember, I had hyped the Smart Car in an earlier post as something that was a stepping stone to a better urban Milwaukee. Thanks to IllustriousBean for snagging the photo. Check out the Bergstrom Smart Car website for more information.

Public Works Committee

Location: City Hall 200 East Wells Street, Room 301-B Agenda

UWM Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Location: DoubleTree Hotel, Milwaukee City Center Conference Website: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CBU/

Urban Agriculture Conference

Location: Hilton Milwaukee, City Center Conference Website: http://growurban.org/