County Wants Public Art For New Coggs Building

New Coggs Center at 1230 W. Cherry St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County is looking for artists to create public art installations at the new human services building going up in the King Park neighborhood.

The county is currently building a $42 million, 60,000-square-foot headquarters for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) at 1230 W. Cherry St. Construction is scheduled to finish this year and DHHS is looking for artists to design an exterior mural and a mobile for the interior.

The project includes a $100,000 budget for the art installations, which can be used to cover everything an artist will need to design and execute their installation. The deadline to apply is May 5.

The new four-story, human services building will replace the nearby Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center at 1220 W. Vliet St. Once the government offices have moved out, Developer Gorman & Company plans to turn the three-story, 212,000-square-foot building into affordable housing.

For the mural on the facade of the building, DHHS has chosen a large, rectangular, brick section covering approximately three stories on the northern face of the building. For the interior, DHHS is interested in a lightweight mobile that would be suspended in the center of the building’s light well.

The county is looking for artists, or artist teams, that are able to work in Milwaukee until the project is complete. Once applications are closed, the county will narrow down submissions to a group of six finalists.

The completed building will have an interior described by DHHS as having a soft neutral palette, with colorful fabrics, murals and curated art pieces. The glass light well is located in the center of the building. The first floors will provide space for the public with waiting areas, meeting and consultation rooms. The remaining three floors are for DHHS staff office space.

The new building, designed by Engberg Anderson Architects, will be the first county human services office actually built to purpose. The existing Coggs building is a former Schuster’s Department Store. Policymakers made the decision to find a replacement for the building following an assessment by facilities staff in 2021 showing significant maintenance and infrastructure needs. These costs were compounded by the state Department of Health Services decision to vacate its offices there, causing the county to lose the only other tenant in the building

The new building will retain the Coggs name, which was bestowed on the county’s human services center in honor of Marcia P. Coggs, the first Black woman elected to the Wisconsin Legislature. The building was so named following her passing in 2003.

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