Domes Project Lining Up Key Financing Component

Proposed Nature Learning Center addition. Rendering courtesy Friends of the Domes.

An important piece of the plan to save the Mitchell Park Domes is coming together.

The Friends of the Domes, the nonprofit organization that operates the Domes, is working on an application for state and federal historic tax credits. The funding is a critical part of the multi-layered financing the organization needs to advance the $133 million repair and redevelopment of the structures.

The friends group created the plan in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks. The project is structured in two phases. First, a  $107.4 million repair and redevelopment effort, building out amenities like the gift shop, children’s dome and cafe. Then, a $26 million development of a new nature learning center and new stormwater garden to replace the sunken gardens.

The plan is to go after approximately in $26.4 million historic preservation tax credits. The project, according to a project plan, should be eligible for approximately $11.6 million in state historic tax credits and $14.8 million in federal historic tax credits. In total, the plan is to go after approximately $42.4 million in various tax credits, on top of $35 million in private donations and $30 million from the county.

The project team has begun working on its application for historic tax credits, Christa Beall Diefenbach told Urban Milwaukee. While placement on the National Register of Historic Places is a prerequisite for tax credit eligibility, the project team is actually beginning work on the tax credits first.

“What you want to do with the historic tax credit program is make sure you’re engaging the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Parks Service early so that they can weigh in on the design decisions that are going to be part of the project,” Diefenbach said.

The work still involves making the case for historic designation and preservation, but they are tailoring the project plans to ensure they remain eligible for the critical historic tax credits. The credits, which are often sold to institutional investors, partially offset the cost of historically-sensitive renovations.

Once designation and tax credits are achieved and the project moves forward, there is only a five-year clawback window where any changes to the buildings could threaten the project’s tax credits. After five years, the Domes could lose the designation but the tax credits would not need to be repaid. In view of this, the friends group does not view historic designation as “overly restrictive” for any future updates to the Domes, Diefenbach said.

During the 2025 budget process, the Milwaukee County Board adopted an amendment by the area supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez authorizing the county to negotiate an agreement with the Friends of the Domes that includes a long-term lease allowing the nonprofit to assume operational control, supports listing the Domes on the National Register of Historic Places and commits the county to providing $30 million in support for the project over an unspecified six-year period.

The commitment from the county was critical to getting the project moving, Diefenbach said. The organization has contracted with Campbell & Company to run the private capital campaign, which is currently underway. The project received a $1 million donation early on that was contingent upon the county’s support, though Diefenbach declined to say where the fundraising currently stood. The campaign is not even public yet and still in its “silent phase,” she said.

Conceptual Renderings

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