Will County Rehab Kosciuszko Community Center?

Kosciuszko Community Center. Photo taken by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County is likely to advance a multi-year renovation of the Kosciuszko Community Center, 2201 S. 7th St. in Kosciuszko Park, next year.

In his 2026 recommended budget, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley proposed a total of $1.9 million for detailed planning and design ($1.29 million), as well as reconstruction of the entranceway and facade for the community center ($620,760).

Going back to 202o, Milwaukee County Parks has been working on a plan for the future of the community center, built in 1981 in the city’s Lincoln Village neighborhood.

The 58,000-square-foot community center has a fitness center, weight room, boxing gym, gymnasium and community event space. However, community members have expressed interest in other amenities that can’t be accommodated in the existing building, such as additional space for sports, arts, and cultural activities, or a drop-in childcare facility.

In 2022, initial planning and design by Quorum Architects estimated that phased, occupied construction of a renovated community center would cost approximately $32.1 million. An additional $1.7 million in existing building maintenance.

As is the situation for many county facilities, long-term maintenance is expensive, and Parks previously estimated that it will need to spend $10 million over the next two decades to maintain the building. The mounting maintenance needs have limited the usability of the existing building, according to the county.

The Quorum-designed project would include an expanded weight room, a new boxing and mixed martial arts facility, a renovated gymnasium, a dancing and fitness classroom, a new kitchen for cooking classes, new classrooms, makerspace, rooms for tutoring, drop-in childcare, a food pantry, wellness space and social services offices.

With limited funding to go around, the county has been slowly advancing the project in small, bite-sized funding allocations, including $548,420 in 2024 for design of the new facade and entranceway.

Since her election to the board, Sup. Caroline Gómez-Tom has pushed for funding to keep the community center project moving forward. She advocated for the project during a meeting of the county’s ad-hoc Capital Improvements Committee (CIC) in August, which makes recommendations to the county executive for annual infrastructure spending each year.

“There has been a community swell of support and investment in the park and neighborhood with the newly formed Kosciuszko Park Alliance group and the Kosciuszko Community Center Advisory group. The members represent several groups coming together who want to see the park activated for all people and families to enjoy,” Gómez-Tom told Urban Milwaukee. “These projects provide hope that the County is committed to this community as these neighbors pour their care and effort into this historical and beloved park.”

The $1.29 million Crowley is recommending in 2026 would advance final planning and detailed design of the community center. A rough timeline in the county executive’s recommended budget suggests that the design portion of the project could be completed by 2028. The project funding still needs to make it through the Milwaukee County Board’s budget process.

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