A decision by the Supreme Court to overturn its 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling had a significant impact on Wisconsin, banning abortion and reinstating a highly-restrictive 1849 state law. Less notably, it’s also changing Milwaukee’s built environment.

Anti-abortion protesters were a near-daily presence on N. Farwell Ave. for three decades because Affiliated Medical Services operated an abortion clinic at 1428 N. Farwell Ave. It was not uncommon to see clinic volunteers and staffers working to guide patients into the two-story building, past protesters and their signs.

But following the June court ruling, the anti-abortion protesters are gone, as is the clinic. Pro-Life Wisconsin, which has supported protesters outside the clinic, posted on Facebook earlier this month that the clinic was fully closed. And while the enforceability of the 1849 abortion law remains a debated issue, the building is now on the market.

The 9,514-square-foot building is listed for $1 million with Tim Martinez of Realty Executives Integrity. Completed in 1914, the structure sits on a 6,264-square-foot lot just north of E. Ogden Ave.

At the time of the June ruling, Affiliated said it would continue to provide ultrasounds and after-pill care from the facility, but would refer abortion care to Illinois or Minnesota clinics. Protestors continued to show up, even after no abortions were performed in the building. The clinic had been located in the building since 1990, relocating from the River Bank Plaza building downtown.

The property listing bills the Farwell Avenue building as a “redevelopment project.” A future owner eclectic mix of nearby uses, including the Shank Hall music venue, an under-construction senior living facility, a gas station, an anti-abortion women’s medical center, a tattoo parlor and a number of other commercial structures and apartment buildings.

Thrive Holistic Medicine has had a street-facing space in the southwest corner of the building since 2018. Martinez’ listing says there will be no other tenants after December 2022.

The second floor has a high ceiling and was previously used as a dance hall for its original tenant, Dorsey’s Dance Academy. The facade of the building still says “DORSEY.”

In addition to Dorsey, historical newspaper records indicate the building was previously home to Blue Star Knitting, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Project Involve Center, Counseling Center of Milwaukee, Women’s Crisis Line, Great Lakes Futon Co. and Record Head.

The Neoclassical-style building was designed by architect George B. Ferry, previously a partner in the prolific firm Ferry & Clas (Pabst Mansion, Central Library and many others).

An affiliate of the clinic CEO Dennis Christensen acquired the property for $736,600 in 2016. Prior to the acquisition, it was owned for decades by Elizabeth Levins. The property is currently assessed for $585,400.

And while the clinic is now gone, and presumably the protesters with it, it leaves a legal legacy. Three protestors who used a combination of chains, concrete and cars to blockade the clinic in June 1994 were the first to be convicted under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The act had been signed into law less than two weeks prior to their blockade.

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Weekly Recap

New Beerline Trail Connector Building

A new community hub is taking shape along the Beerline Trail at the border of the Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods.

Riverworks Development Corporation is leading the development of The Connector Building at 274 E. Keefe Ave. It will serve as a home for trail programming and will also house a cafe. The new building comes as the trail is being extended north under Interstate 43.

Alexander Hagler will open Kumba Juice and Coffee House in the building. The cafe will offer light sandwiches, premade salads, coffee, espresso, juices and smoothies. “There will not be a heavy dine-in experience,” said Hagler in June 2021 when the council reviewed a lane sale for the project. He said the menu was developed after surveying area residents and businesses, including those that Riverworks serves in the business park to the north.

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Cream City Brick House Proposed For East Side

The third of three new homes is slated to rise on a long-vacant lot on Milwaukee’s East Side.

Developer Juli Kaufmann would construct a new personal residence at 2409 N. Terrace Ave., near Lake Michigan and the eastern end of North Avenue. Kaufmann, with designs by Patrick Jones of Ramsey Jones Architects, is proposing a two-story, 2,997-square-foot residence. It would be clad primarily in reclaimed Cream City brick.

The new house would join two nearly finished new houses for New Land Enterprises business partners Tim Gokhman and Ann Shuk and their families. Those houses went through an extensive approval process dating back to 2018 as neighbors, with the support of then-alderman Nik Kovac, petitioned for the vacant site to be included in the North Point North Historic District. The neighbors claimed the site was always intended to be added to the district as part of the early 2000s expansion agreement with Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital. Gokhman and architect Jason Korb first needed to wait for the district to be expanded, then work with the commission on the design of the houses.

Kaufmann could also endure an extended approval process, although for entirely different reasons. Her proposal was initially being reviewed by commission staffer Tim Askin, but needed to switch to co-worker Carlen Hatala after Askin started an unexpected medical leave.

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Renovated Green Bay Playfield Opens

Residents of the Williamsburg Heights neighborhood have a brand new park to enjoy.

The fully-renovated Green Bay Playfield, 3818 N. 8th St., opened Saturday following a ribbon cutting by Milwaukee Recreation. The playfield, which dates back to 1928, is located immediately south of Milwaukee Public Schools‘ Green Bay Avenue School and just east of Interstate 43.

“We are excited to welcome the community back to this newly renovated playfield,” said MKE REC director Lynn Greb in a statement. “The neighborhood residents provided crucial input to help shape the space and ensure it fit the needs of the community. Now, the playfield is a vibrant and welcoming place that children and families will enjoy for years to come.”

Greb was joined at the ribbon cutting by MPS Superintendent Keith P. Posley, Mayor Cavalier Johnson and school board members Bob Peterson and Sequanna Taylor.

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County Would Raise Tax Levy For Forensic Science Center

Milwaukee County would borrow $62.9 million in 2023 to fill a funding gap for the proposed Forensic Science Center. The county will likely need to pay back the debt through an increase in property taxes.

“The Forensic Science Center, I believe, is the single biggest financial decision that is being asked in this budget,” said Steve Cady, research and policy director in the Office of the Milwaukee County Comptroller, Tuesday at the first meeting of the county board’s budget committee.

The project involves partnering with the state to develop a $226 million, three-story, 200,000-square-foot building that would be called the Center for Forensic Science and Protective Medicine and would house both the county’s Office of the Medical Examiner and Office of Emergency Management as well as the Wisconsin Department of Justice Milwaukee Crime Lab. The county would contribute approximately $127 million and own just over half of the building. It would be built in Wauwatosa on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus.

The proposal asks the supervisors to exceed the county’s annual self-imposed bonding cap of $45.8 million, similar to the $45 million the Milwaukee County Board approved for the new Milwaukee Public Museum.

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Council Delays Decision On Whether To Allow Pabst Wedding Venue

The Milwaukee Common Council is flirting with denying a liquor license for the Pabst Theater Group (PTG) to operate a wedding and events venue in a historic mansion in the northeast corner of Downtown.

On Sept. 27, the Licenses Committee voted 3-0 to recommending deny PTG’s request for a new license to operate what has long been known as Villa Filomena at 1119 N. Marshall St. In July, PTG paid $1.55 million for the 8,752-square-foot house, rebranding it The Fitzgerald, and has hosted events at the space in partnership with prior owners Anthony Sanfilippo and Janice Sanfilippo.

The operation in recent years has engendered criticism from neighboring residents who have complained about excessive noise and other logistical issues with large events held in the house.

“I don’t think this ever should have been at this location,” said Alderman Robert Bauman at the Sept. 27 hearing. He said he warned PTG about problems with the location when the organization considered purchasing the property. Despite being in the Yankee Hill section of Downtown, the street is entirely residential buildings. “It’s trying to put a round peg in a square hole.”

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After UWM Lawsuit Loss, City Could Rewrite Historic Preservation Ordinance

The city’s failed bid to historically protect Columbia Hospital on the UW-Milwaukee campus could change the structure of the city’s historic preservation ordinance.

As Urban Milwaukee reported immediately following the hearing last week, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro struck another blow to the city’s hopes of protecting the 1919 hospital. Yamahiro denied the city’s request for an injunction, allowing the university to continue with demolition even as the city fights the University of Wisconsin System in appeals court over its ability to historically protect buildings.

“There is nothing legally preventing UWM from moving forward with the full demolition of the property,” said assistant city attorney Alexander Carson to the Historic Preservation Commission on Monday. According to court documents filed by the UW System, full-scale demolition is to begin Oct. 16. Windows have already been removed, as have a number of other fixtures.

“The arguments we were going to raise don’t seem to have the effectiveness that we hoped they would,” he said, casting concern on the viability of the remainder of the case.

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Neighbors Give Up, Historic Commission Rules Summit Homes Not Historic

After more than a year of inaction, neighbors and the Historic Preservation Commission threw in the towel on the historic protection of East Side two houses slated for demolition and replacement with an apartment building.

The commission voted Monday afternoon to deny the permanent designation of the houses at 2275 N. Summit Ave. and 2279 N. Summit Ave. No one even spoke in favor of their designation.

“What has transpired?” asked Commissioner Sally Peltz. “It’s just odd to me that there was so much noise to this.” In August 2021, the commission granted the two houses temporary historic designation, effectively a six-month restraining order against demolition so a permanent designation can be considered. In January 2022, the commission, with the consent of the property owner, held off on a decision so that neighborhood resident, preservation advocate and designation applicant Dawn McCarthy could work with a consultant on a proposal to expand the neighboring historic district. McCarthy submitted a proposal to expand the district in August 2022, but withdrew it before the commission could debate it.

Commission staffer Carlen Hatala said there were issues with the consultant and that members of the Historic Water Tower Neighborhood decided they didn’t have the time to move forward. The houses, since shortly before the temporary designation was put in place, have sat with siding and other fixtures removed. The interior of both houses was damaged due to an unfulfilled request to turn off water service in late 2020.

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Ahead of Council Votes, FPC Announces Labor Agreements for Concert Venues

The Milwaukee Bucks, FPC Live and other project partners are applying a full-court public relations press in advance of upcoming Common Council votes on a proposed two-venue concert complex across from Fiserv Forum.

The team announced multiple voluntary labor agreements Monday morning that will cover everyone from construction workers to bartenders at the complex.

“Big, impactful projects require partnerships,” said FPC CEO Joel Plant at a press conference held at the proposed site of the $50 million complex. Focused on live music acts with primarily standing crowds, the complex would have halls with capacities of 800 and 4,000 people.

Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization President Peter Rickman, who also helped organize workers at Fiserv Forum and businesses in Deer District, said a labor agreement would help transform the city from a center for low-wage service sector work to one of shared prosperity. Rickman credited the Bucks-MASH agreement for Fiserv Forum as a catalyst for the FPC Live agreement and other agreements in the city. “They cast the mold for future developments as well,” said the labor leader. He said the labor peace agreement with FPC, a precursor to a formal contract, happened “pretty painlessly.”

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