City Reveals New Plan For ‘Landmark’ Downtown Site

1001 N. Water St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Department of City Development (DCD) doesn’t intend to go back to the drawing board on its efforts to redevelop the Marcus Performing Arts Center parking structure, 1001 N. Water St.

DCD announced late Friday that it was dropping Neutral and its $700 million plan, which included a 55-story building that would have been Wisconsin’s tallest. The company has run into substantial financial issues with the development of the 31-story Neutral Edison high-end apartment tower on a neighboring, private site.

“The administration has finally acknowledged the fact, which was known to almost everybody in the community, that the Neutral developer is defunct,” said area Alderman Robert Bauman, chair of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, during the committee’s meeting Tuesday.

“We agree with you that it is time to move in another direction,” said DCD Commissioner Lafayette Crump.

But DCD doesn’t intend to immediately reissue a request for proposals (RFP) for the city-owned site. Three firms bid on the 2023 RFP, which called for a “landmark” development on the 2.45-acre site.

“I’ve had conversations with the two other respondents,” said Crump. “We received three viable proposals that were under evaluation. What we have learned, kind of, in those conversations with the other respondents is that they would certainly be interested in another kick at the cat.”

Crump said his department is also “initiating” conversations with others in the development community about the market’s state.

New Land Enterprises was one of the bidders, but firm director Tim Gokhman went public with complaints about the city’s RFP process in July 2024 and said his firm was voluntarily withdrawing. Gokhman did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

A partnership of The Richman Group and Northernstar Companies also bid on the project.

Both firms submitted bids with estimated costs exceeding $100 million and proposed more than 100 apartments. Other uses were also included in each proposal.

“What we’d like to do is see if there is a viable path forward,” said Crump. DCD would like to avoid a new RFP process because of the time and costs involved.

“That’s not an unreasonable approach. I think that’s certainly fair,” said Bauman.

Crump then gave the committee a timeline for action. “I think we would love to have someone under contract within the next six months or so,” he said.

Issue with the existing structure

Another issue has emerged while the development process plays out. The parking structure needs maintenance.

Marcus Center CEO Kevin Giglinto told the committee that GRAEF, the organization’s structural engineering consultant, estimates the structure will need $100,000 to $200,000 in annual repairs “to maintain safety and security.” The center owns the structure and leases the land from the city.

The council and administration are at odds on where that money could come from. The Marcus Center said the city is liable to cover some of its expenses. The City Attorney’s Office doesn’t believe the city is legally required to contribute anything.

Bauman is blaming DCD for the predicament.

“The only reason they’re in this position is because you chose a developer for the [performing arts center] grounds that you had no business choosing in the first place because they were totally inept,” said Bauman. “They had no financial track record, they had no development track record, and now they’re kaput.”

Crump said Bauman was allowed to review the scoring matrix for the RFP. “You were comfortable with the scoring matrix, and this is the developer that rose to the top given the scoring matrix that you were comfortable with,” he said.

The DCD commissioner also asserted that even if things had gone as planned, the financial situation might still have arisen. “What we asked for was not immediately transferring that land to that developer, but we asked for a period of time to evaluate whether or not that developer and that project were going to be feasible,” said Crump. “None of us have any way of knowing that had we chosen another developer that this project would absolutely have moved forward at this point.”

See more on this issue in our companion article.

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