Grand Opening Held For New Coggs Building

Marcia P. Coggs Health & Human Services Center, 1230 W. Cherry St. photo taken June 13, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.

A grand opening and celebration were held Friday for the new $42 million Marcia P. Coggs Health & Human Services Center.

The new four-story, 60,000-square-foot building, 1230 W. Cherry St., replaces the former Coggs building located just a block south.

The new Coggs building is the headquarters for the county’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). NourishMKE, formerly Friedens Food Pantries, has also relocated its food pantry to an 8,000-square-foot space in the building.

“This new facility is more than just a building, it’s a lifeline,” said Shakita LaGrant-McClain, DHHS Executive Director, in a statement. “It’s a community-centered space where residents can access the care, resources and the support they need to thrive.”

DHHS is the largest department in county government, with a budget of more than $215 million and nearly 700 full-time staff. It provides disability, housing and veterans services; includes what was formerly called the county’s Behavioral Health Division; and oversees the Aging and Disability Resource Center, the county’s Child Support Services and the county’s juvenile justice facilities.

The department has a policy called “No Wrong Door” that aims to make every service it provides accessible at every point of contact with the public. The new building has dedicated walk-in areas for residents seeking services. La-Grant McClain heralded the new building as “No Wrong Door in action.”

County Executive David Crowley called the building “equity in action” and said it advances his administration’s long-term goal to make Milwaukee County the healthiest in the state by achieving racial equity.

The project was initiated in 2021 when a facility review of the original Coggs building, 1220 W. Vliet St., concluded with a recommendation for the county to relocate staff and sell the building. The building was deemed oversized for the department’s needs and was on the verge of losing its only other tenant, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

DHHS officials and Crowley proposed using funding from the county’s federal COVID-19 stimulus grant to build a new human services building. In 2022, the Milwaukee County Board approved $32.3 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to pay for the development of the new facility.

Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson said the new building is “a declaration” that county “refuses to wait for equity.” and an investment in community health at a time when the federal government is preparing to cut funding for Medicaid.

“Even as others cut back, Milwaukee County is pressing forward, investing in our people, in our planet, in our collective future,” Nicholson said. “Solar panels on the roof? That’s not just energy efficiency. That’s climate equity. That’s us saying that the health of our planet and the health of our people are not separate fights.”

Construction began in 2024. The building was designed by Engberg Anderson Architects, and JP Cullen served as the general contractor. It’s the county’s first purpose-built human services building.

“When you think about people with disabilities, those that we serve, our veterans, our older adults, our young people, this building was designed specifically with them in mind, and the services and the programs that we need to deliver for them,” Crowley said.

It was important to remain in the King Park neighborhood, DHHS officials said at the time. The county has maintained a social services center in the area for more than 50 years. The neighborhood is also the site of a handful of major county projects, including the Mental Health Emergency Center, located immediately north of the new Coggs building, and a massive affordable housing project building 120 new homes for first-time homebuyers in the surrounding neighborhood.

“In the past few years, we’ve been able to, in a sense, create this into being a health and human service community, if you will,” Crowley said.

The former Coggs building — built in the early 20th century as a Shuster’s Department Store — is expected to be redeveloped into 65 affordable apartments, with commercial space on the first floor. Gorman & Company currently has a $1 million option to purchase agreement with the county. The firm has until October 2025 to exercise the option.

The building was named for Marcia P. Coggs in 2003. She was the first Black woman elected to the state Assembly. Her granddaughter, County Supervisor Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones, called the new building a “living tribute” to her grandmother’s legacy.

“Her lifelong fight for social change and equitable access to human services laid the foundation for what we celebrate today,” she said.

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