Port Building New Cruise Ship Dock

Milwaukee’s effort to become a leading cruise ship destination on the Great Lakes received a major boost Thursday.

Governor Tony Evers announced a $3.5 million grant for the city-owned port to build a new cruise ship dock capable of servicing the Viking Ocantis, a new 665-foot, 378-passenger ship that will enter service on the Great Lakes this year.

“If we want to continue the [tourism] industry’s great success, and all of the industries that come with it, we need to make long-term investments,” said Evers in announcing the award at Port Milwaukee’s office.

COVID-19 effectively halted Great Lakes cruising for the past two years, just after the city announced an expected uptick in the business. Port Milwaukee has successfully targeted landing “turnaround service” from operators, where Milwaukee serves as the end of one trip and the start of another. The coveted service yields twice as many passengers, as well as more spending and overnight hotel stays.

“As of today, in 2022 we are expecting more than 10,000 passengers to descend on Milwaukee,” said port director Adam Tindall-Schlicht. That’s up from approximately 1,000 passengers in 2018. Congresswoman Gwen Moore joked that she wasn’t taught how to calculate that kind of increase in school.

Evers is making the allocation from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act grant. The state is making $21.9 million in tourism-related grants from the federal funds, but received $260 million in requests. Department of Administration Secretary-designee Kathy Blumenfeld said the port’s request rose to the top because of the ripple effect it presents.

Blumenfeld said the average passenger spends $111 and the average crew member $49. But the turnaround service yields $188 per passenger.

“We are really gearing up for the future,” the secretary-designee said.

Tindall-Schlicht said the new cruise ship dock, to be built along existing fill east of the Lake Express ferry terminal at 2330 S. Lincoln Memorial Dr., should last more than 50 years with regular maintenance. It would be located at the far eastern edge of the site to accommodate the largest possible vessels.

The recently-completed Viking Octantis is a Seawaymax-size vessel, the largest ship that can fit through the St. Lawrence Seaway locks that connect the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to accommodating 378 passengers, it is configured to hold up to 250 crew members.

“This really is the one-time investment that we need,” said Tindall-Schlicht.

But the state’s grant will only cover half of the dock’s approximately $7 million cost. The city-owned port intends to cover the remainder with a $500,000 grant it received in 2021 from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the proceeds from the city’s sale of land for Komatsu Mining South Harbor Campus development in the inner harbor.

Port Milwaukee had once considered developing the new cruise ship dock alongside the South Harbor Campus development, but the port director said a closer evaluation revealed it was cheaper to develop it at what the port calls its South Shore Cruise Dock. A south-facing, smaller dockwall that is directly adjacent to the ferry terminal will remain as part of the new dock’s development, but isn’t expected to be regularly used.

Work is expected to be completed in 2023, with the Ocantis using an industrial dock during the 2022 season. Engineering work on the proposal was already completed by Collins Engineering. There is currently no dockwall at the site. “It’s a soup to nuts, comprehensive dock for Seawaymax cruise ship vessels,” said Tindall-Schlicht in discussing all of the elements that go into it.

The question of what to do with the five acres of land next to the new dock still remains.

The city solicited partners through a request for information in late 2021, but Tindall-Schlicht said there was only a single respondent. He is hoping the return of cruise ship traffic draws more interest.

“We will likely reissue the RFI to see if there is any interest to help us with land-side development,” said Tindall Schlicht. The site was created with fill in 1975 and is subject to Public Trust Doctrine restrictions on what could be built atop it. “I think it would be really a dynamic experience if we could bring hospitality, cultural amenities, public access and other Public Trust related features to the site so there is an integration for Milwaukeeans economically, culturally side-by-side with the cruise ship dock.”

The port will continue to use its Pier Wisconsin dock adjacent to Discovery World. Starting in 2021, Pearl Seas Management is leasing that dock for 20 years for use with its 210-passenger, 70-crew-member Pearl Mist vessel, which sails the Great Lakes in the summer. The Pier Wisconsin dock could not accommodate larger Seawaymax vessels.

“Port Milwaukee is a hidden gem of city government,” said Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

The Zoo and Mobile Milwaukee

Evers wasn’t in Milwaukee just to announce a port grant. The Milwaukee County Zoo will also receive $3.5 million and VISIT Milwaukee is receiving $112,050.

“All of these projects will help ensure Milwaukee continues to grow,” said Evers.

The zoo’s grant will cover updating the penguin habitat and zoo entrance. “We are thrilled that the grant will help us showcase the connection between animals and our community,” said zoo deputy director Vera Westphal. She said Milwaukee’s zoo is one of only 21 facilities in the United States that houses the threatened Humboldt penguins.

VISIT Milwaukee’s grant will cover the cost of a mobile marketing experience. “This is going to allow us to take Milwaukee out of Milwaukee,” said CEO Peggy Williams-Smith. She said the majority of Milwaukee’s visitors come from within a six-hour drive and that the tool, the brainchild of events experience manager Tony Snell, would be used to showcase the city in other markets.

Joining representatives of the zoo, port and VISIT at the event were Representative Christine Sinicki and Senator Chris Larson.