Milwaukee Public Museum Project Receives State Grant
$150,000 grant supports site clearing, environmental investigation.
The project to develop a new building for the Milwaukee Public Museum is receiving a state grant to help fund an early stage of development of the planned site.
On Thursday, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) announced it was awarding a $150,000 grant to the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM) to support site clearance and environmental site investigation.
In 2020, the museum announced plans to build a new 230,000 square foot facility at the northeast corner of W. McKinley Ave. and N. 6th St. The plan also calls for co-locating the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum on the property.
The entire project is estimated to cost $240 million. The facility itself will cost $190 million.
The new building is integral to the museum maintaining its collections and accreditation. The current building, at 800 W. Wells St., is in such poor condition that The Alliance of American Museums tabled the museum’s re-accreditation in February.
This is the latest development in the project, which the museum’s president and CEO Ellen Censky, says requires significant public buy-in to jumpstart a major capital-campaign soliciting millions in donations for the new facility.
Censky said the WEDC funding “begins the work of transforming that block into an innovative, world-class museum experience.”
“Each step toward our collocation has built excitement and strengthened our commitment to create the best museum campus we can for the community,” said Brian King, executive director of the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum.
Project Site
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More about the New Natural History Museum
- MKE County: What Will Be Done With Existing Public Museum Building? - Graham Kilmer - Aug 7th, 2024
- Indigenous Artist Creating Art Installation For New Public Museum - Graham Kilmer - Aug 1st, 2024
- MPM Holds Groundbreaking for $240 Million Museum - Graham Kilmer - May 7th, 2024
- Construction of New Museum Scheduled for Summer - Graham Kilmer - Mar 12th, 2024
- Museum Begins Epic Task Packing Collections - Graham Kilmer - Feb 27th, 2024
- New Federal Rules May Require Public Museum to Remove Some Exhibits - Graham Kilmer - Feb 2nd, 2024
- MKE County: Public Museum Experiencing Frequent Maintenance Issues - Graham Kilmer - Dec 14th, 2023
- MKE County: MPM Needs $35 Million To Begin New Museum Construction - Graham Kilmer - Dec 12th, 2023
- Public Museum Gets New $2 Million Donation - Graham Kilmer - Oct 17th, 2023
- Eyes on Milwaukee: After $15-Per-Hour Pledge, Museum Gets Zoning Change - Jeramey Jannene - Jul 31st, 2023
Read more about New Natural History Museum here
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I am wondering if there will be a public display of the proposed museum design in which public comments are collected. The public financial support is significant, and as a cultural institution, the new museum will play a significant role in the the education of Wisconsin’s students and in Milwaukee’s downtown development. Also, a public display with commenting would contribute to the public buy-in and sense of public ownership.
As a public museum that creates public displays on a regular basis, I would think this would be right up MPM’s alley.