Committee Plans to Lobby UWM to Expand Downtown

In April 2008 Alderman Michael D’Amato, as one of his last acts in office, brought forward a resolution that stated the City of Milwaukee’s position that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee should locate its College of Engineering and Applied Science, as well as UWM’s other satellite campuses, within the City of Milwaukee. This resolution received unanimous support and was signed by Mayor Tom Barrett, but this didn’t sway or slow the efforts of UWM to expand in Wauwatosa.

Alderman Bob Bauman and Alderman Nik Kovac have continued this effort with a more aggressive resolution which will direct the Intergovernmental Relations Division to lobby the Board of Regents to locate the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and future student residence halls, within downtown Milwaukee.

At the most recent Judiciary & Legislation Committee there was a long discussion regarding this resolution that covered topics such as available space, the catalytic impact, transit, housing and the tax status of UWM. During this meeting Alderman Jim Bohl was added as a sponsor and he spoke at length regarding the topic. He expressed to the committee that “I think UWM missed the ball on this one” and referred to this plan by UWM as “UW-W”. During this meeting it was also mention that Mayor Barrett is in strong support of UWM’s expansion within downtown Milwaukee and has in fact put a request for funds into President Barack Obama‘s proposed stimulus plan. Alderman Bauman explained that he felt UWM expanding in Wauwatosa was “basically forcing people to buy automobiles” and recognized the value of college students when he went on to say that “believe me we could use a 700 student dormitory sitting on Wisconsin Ave”. The only member of the Common Council to vote against the measure was Alderman Bob Donovan apparently over some concerns about adding additional non-taxable land to the city. The measure was passed by the full Common Council.