County Begins Planning for Empty Museum Building

Milwaukee Public Museum. Photo taken March 8th, 2017 by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County officials have selected a development team to assist with planning for the future of the Milwaukee Public Museum building at 800 W. Wells St.

The 200,000-square-foot museum was built in 1962 by the City of Milwaukee (which helped fund and oversee the museum for most of its history) and was sold to Milwaukee County in 1976. It will now be replaced by a new, privately-owned museum being built at the northeast corner of N. 6th Street and W. McKinley Avenue. The old building has significant deferred maintenance and old building systems that frequently break down. The building conditions have put items in the museum’s collections in jeopardy, which was a major factor in the decision to build a new museum.

The county’s Economic Development Division is working with a team composed of contractors from Graef, Bear Real Estate and CG Schmidt to conduct a due diligence review of the building and develop three scenarios for future development. The report from the project team is expected before the end of the year.

“This analysis will consider multiple scenarios for the site’s future and will identify constraints and opportunities for each scenario,” as Celia Benton, director of economic development, wrote in a recent report to the Milwaukee County Board. “Each scenario will also be assessed for its potential impact to the County, its alignment with community needs, and its compatibility with the City of Milwaukee’s Downtown Plan 2040.”

The 2040 downtown plan, developed by the city and the Milwaukee Downtown BID #21, envisions high-density, mixed-use redevelopment of the museum site, with “mixed income housing and neighborhood supporting commercial uses on the ground floor;” as well as an extension N. 8th Street one block north of W. Wells Street.

The Graef report is the first step in a due diligence process the county expects will take several years to finish. Officials want the process to be “publicly transparent and informed by a rigorous analysis of all options, focusing on maximizing community benefit and operational excellence,” according to Benton.

What Will Happen to Soref Planetarium?

The Daniel M. Soref Dome Theater and Planetarium will make the move to the new Milwaukee Public Museum. At least, the name will make the move.

A new planetarium once again bearing the Soref name will be located on the first floor of the future museum, Madeline Anderson, MPM director of communications, told Urban Milwaukee. The current Soref planetarium will remain open as long as the current museum remains open.

The Soref planetarium, constructed as an addition to the museum in the 1990s, is the largest in Wisconsin.

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