Revised Deer District Concert Venue Wins Key Approval

2023 proposal for FPC Live Deer District concert venue. Rendering by Eppstein Uhen Architects.

A scaled-down proposal to build a live music venue next to Fiserv Forum scored a key endorsement Monday, setting it up for final approval next week.

“‘I would propose we call this project our inflation-adjusted concert venue,” said Frank Productions CEO Joel Plant to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.

The new plan from FPC Live, a partnership of Madison-based Frank Productions and national concert promoter Live Nation, calls for a 4,500-person concert venue targeted primarily at standing crowds atop the former Bradley Center site.

Gone is a prior plan, approved last November, to build two-venue complex with 800 and 4,000 person capacities. Plant blamed the fact that multiple expected groundbreaking dates for the venues came and went on rising construction costs and interest rates. The revised project is said to cost $60 million, still $10 million higher than the original project’s price tag of $50 million.

Plant said a groundbreaking for the new venue would occur in March, with an expected fall 2025 opening. He said it would provide a high-quality venue that serves growing demand for live music, stimulates economic development and ensures the city remains a must-stop tour destination.

But the revised plan brought about a new cycle of zoning hearings, and opposition from representatives of Turner Hall.

The Department of City Development (DCD) continues to support the proposal, said planning manager Sam Leichtling. “This is exactly what the downtown plan calls for,” he said, referencing the recently-adopted 2040 plan and its goal of creating a vibrant, active area around the arena.

“We have been very clear this is aggregating people and activating what we believe is the centerpiece of the city,” said Bucks president Peter Feigin.

But Turner Hall representatives are concerned about the nature of that aggregation.

Chris Ahmuty, board president of the Turner Hall Preservation Trust, and Milwaukee Turners executive director Emilio De Torre asked for the proposal to be delayed.

The initial approval in 2022 drew substantial opposition from competing concert venues, including the Pabst Theater Group, which leases Turner Hall’s ballroom. But representatives of the historic facility said their concern isn’t about a competing venue.

“At Turner Hall, there is a lot going on beyond concerts in the ballroom,” said Ahmuty. There is also a gym and a restaurant in the facility.

“I’m asking for deferment of this decision,” said De Torre. He said his organization, and possibly a independent third-party, needed to be able to review traffic and safety plans.

“During the NBA playoffs, the police asked us if they could put snipers on our roof,” said De Torre, noting that given that level of safety concern his organization had a vested interest in understanding plans for the new venue.

Leichtling had previously noted that a condition of the proposal was that a building permit wouldn’t be issued until a Department of Public Works traffic analysis was concluded, primarily for concerns with lane markings and signal timing. Additionally, he said the Milwaukee Police Department had received and approved a safety plan.

“I continue to be in favor of this project and I urge my colleagues to support it,” said area Alderman Robert Bauman. In 2022, he said it wasn’t the council’s role to be an antitrust division. On Monday, he suggested a required traffic study was an artificial constraint.

“Yes, congestion is inevitable when you bring a lot of people together and they’re forced to drive their car,” said the alderman, who noted it was an area targeted for streetcar expansion.

A lengthy hearing ensued, with substantial back-and-forth about details of the zoning code, the noise regulations and other Deer District operational concerns.

“I thought that the removal of the small, 800-person venue was beneficial for our local venues, but I appreciate you bringing these other concerns to our attention,” said Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, appearing to attempt to wind down the conversation.

She asked if the parties could address some “low-hanging fruit” like relocating proposed Uber and Lyft pickup spaces near Turner Hall’s parking lot or not using the banners on the east side of the new venue for advertising. But FPC’s attorney Brian Randall said the ride sharing spaces are actually to be located in front of the venue, on the other side of the street from Turner Hall. Plant said the company had already committed to not using the banners for advertising, as a DCD representative confirmed, and would share them before posting with the Milwaukee Turners for review.

De Torre said an existing dropoff space along W. Highland Avenue to the east was the issue. “There will be solid congestion there,” said De Torre. “It’s already very difficult to navigate. This is going to exacerbate this dramatically.”

Alderman Jonathan Brostoff was the lone council member on the committee to vote against the proposal. Brostoff was not elected at the time of the 2022 approval.

The full council is slated to consider the proposal at its Nov. 21 meeting.

Development Sites and a Hotel

Two development sites would be created alongside the new venue. To the south of the venue, at the intersection of W. State Street and N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue, a hotel is envisioned.

Feigin said a letter of intent has been signed with North Central Group, which developed the 207-room The Trade hotel on the north side of the venue. North Central already operates a hotel adjacent to a FPC venue in Madison. If a zoning change for the hotel hasn’t been approved by Jan. 1, 2026, the Bucks and FPC will be required to landscape the site.

A 12,500-square-foot site would also be created in a pocket facing Turner Hall between the venue and N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue. Project architect Greg Uhen of Eppstein Uhen Architects previously said that site would be attractive for development.

Renderings

2022 Venue Renderings

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