Feature
Eight-story building proposed for Riverwalk
Green development proposed for downtown Milwaukee.
Dec 1st, 2007 by Dave Reid
Bronze the Fonz
Henry Winkler Originally uploaded by chelsea tobe Urban Milwaukee and Fresh Coast Ventures, LLC would like to throw their support behind the “Bronze the Fonz” campaign. The urban, pedestrian-friendly location of the statue on the riverwalk will only give Milwaukee visitors one more reason to stay downtown, walk downtown, and spend their money downtown. A couple grumpy art gallery owners in Milwaukee apparently are not seeing how the statue will encourage visitors to “stay downtown, walk downtown, and spend their money downtown”. This would inevitably help their business by increasing foot traffic in the area, but that doesn’t seem to matter to them. Most important to these art gallery owners is the fact that the statue is an icon of mediocre public art. Milwaukee Art Museum Director David Gordon also appears to be upset that the bronze Fonz might interrupt the development of a fancy new public art development coming to Wisconsin Avenue in a few years (of which I can’t seem to actually find any details other than the artist is Janet Zweig,). Fonz-implementers have claimed that the statue will be out of the Wisconsin Avenue sight lines of the Milwaukee Art Museum and new Wisconsin Avenue public art project by being placed on the riverwalk. Good, problem solved. Let’s build this statue. No one is going to make fun of Milwaukee for having this statue and every first time visitor is going to want to see it and get their picture taken with it, just like that “bean” that our neighbor to the south has. Build the statue. It’s only going to help people have one more thing to do in downtown Milwaukee. Игровые Автоматы Онлайн
Nov 30th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Solar Powered Bus Stops As Power Centers?
As a follow-up to my post on Chicago’s Green Alley Program, I did some reading on rubber sidewalks they’re building. That led me to how they’re making their bus stops solar powered (we’re talking the three-sided ones, not the poles in the ground). About 100 solar shelters will be installed next year by the company that has the contract for shelter advertising. The installation will save the city an estimated $20,000 in electricity costs every year, according to Heramb. I don’t know if they’ve considered this, but what if you turned these solar powered bus stops into a decentralized grid of power centers? Why stop at just powering the light at the bus stop? Why not power all the street lights on the block? Why not power the new electronic parking meter LUKE too? Imagine all Department of Public Works property throughout the city of Milwaukee being powered by a money-saving distributed network of solar panels on top of MCTS bus stops. I would imagine Milwaukee could save a lot of money doing this and improving on an idea started by our friends to the south.
Nov 29th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Chicago Leading The Way in Green Alleys
The city of Chicago, in its continual quest to be at the forefront of the implementation of green features, has launched the Green Alley Program. In a city with almost 2,000 miles of alleyways, this is a huge step. Nearly 50 alleys have already been built, with many more to come. The pavement allows water to drain into the water table instead of puddling and running to the sewer system. This obviously reduces the strain on the sewer systems, but there are other benefits to the program. The pavement reflects more heat, reducing the urban heat island affect that plagues urban areas in the summer. Dark-sky lighting fixtures are also installed that are not only more energy efficient, but eliminate the waste of light shining into the sky all night long. This keeps the alleys well-lit, while at the same reducing the light pollution that comes with life in a big city. Costs will continue to drop as more of the porous pavement is produced by cement companies and more of the dark-sky lighting fixtures are installed. The Chicago Green Alley Program properly bundles a series of efficiency and environmental improvements that are helping fuel a renewal in the quality of urban life. While programs like this go largely unnoticed now, down the road they’re going to be part of the decision process when you choose where you want to live (not the program itself, but the results). Cities that invest now are only adding to their bottom lines long-term, through both a probable reduction in costs and an increased tax base in neighbors that have the improvements. MSOE has a permeable pavement parking lot, which aside from being good for keeping water out of the sewer system keeps the surface of the lot a lot more dry during the rain and therefore a lot more pleasurable and safer to walk on (no puddles or slick spots). Permeable pavement is one of those things that the first time you see it in action, you wonder why it isn’t required in new buildings. It would be a true shame if Milwaukee does not adopt this same program in the next year or so, especially for a city that faces sewage discharges into Lake Michigan on a regular basis during periods of high rain. Milwaukee would be wise to at the very least make permeable pavement a requirement in all new construction in the Park East neighborhood. Special thanks to Jason Varone at the NYC-centric Streetsblog for drawing my attention to this development.
Nov 29th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Alderman Michael D’Amato not running for re-election
During his 12 years in office Alderman Michael D’Amato played a large role in encouraging new development in Milwaukee. More recently in his role as Chairman of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee he oversaw countless proposals, and more often than not was supportive of development projects. During this past year he struggled with Eastside residents to over approval of New Land Enterprise’s Downer Ave. development and although the project is moving forward, the city is now being sued. And at the same time he pushed policy and the Department of City Development in a failed attempt at obtaining a TIF to help fund RSC & Associates proposed Park East development. Despite what was probably a frustrating year for Alderman Michael D’Amato, the news he won’t be running for re-election comes as a surprise. Without knowing D’Amato’s future plans or his reasons for not running again it, is still safe to say it will be difficult to replace his experience and dedication.
Nov 27th, 2007 by Dave Reid
Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Milwaukee Intermodal Station Originally uploaded by compujeramey I walked down to the new Intermodal Station (in the rain mind you) to snag some photos. The results can be found on my Flickr set tracking construction of the station. The power with which the building lights up the area is super impressive and ultra important to the continued evolution of downtown Milwaukee towards a 24/7 neighborhood.
Nov 25th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Milwaukee Intermodal Station re-opening signals new start
The new Milwaukee Intermodal Station officially re-opens on Monday November 26th and it exemplifies the good that can come about when Milwaukee’s leaders take a stand and push for something better. The original plan was opposed by mayor Tom Barrett and Alderman Bob Bauman as they felt it wouldn’t do anything to change perception of transit or the station. The old station had been referred to as “scary”, “dark”, and even “Communist,” whereas the new station lights up the night, welcomes you to Milwaukee and gives you the feeling things are changing in this city. The new building’s combination of transit modes adds additional benefits and is the starting point for improved transit service in Milwaukee. First much like the old Amtrak station the old Greyhound depot was not inviting and so Greyhound gains the added bonus of being housed in an inviting space which could improve ridership. Secondly this shared space should allow for better connection between the various modes of transportation. Finally two additional transit systems under consideration would be centered around the Milwaukee Intermodal Station further improving transit options in Milwaukee. Photos Milwaukee Intermodal Station Articles Milwaukee Intermodal Station sets grand opening Amtrak, Greyhound now at same location Latest Amtrak station design a clear winner Editorial: Just simply refreshing
Nov 23rd, 2007 by Dave Reid
CatalystMilwaukee.com
In recent weeks Ghazi Co. has been building momentum for the Catalyst. They announced Big City Lanes as the first secured tenant. Afshin Ghazi spoke at the fifth annual Small Business Times Commercial Real Estate and Development Conference promoting both Catalyst and a return to the city. And today Catalyst took yet another positive step forward with the launch of CatalystMilwaukee.com. Hopefully this momentum is truly sustainable, so that one day the surface parking lot at 4th & Wisconsin will be Milwaukee’s newest entertainment district.
Nov 20th, 2007 by Dave Reid
Milwaukee Intermodal Station To Open November 26th
Milwaukee Intermodal Station Originally uploaded by pear52 The Milwaukee Intermodal Station grand opening will be Monday, November 26th. While you probably have visited the station during the reconstruction phase, the 26th will mark the first day that the station will be free of construction equipment. If you haven’t stopped by Milwaukee’s newest and nicest gateway to the city, make time to. It’s an amazing improvement. free slots
Nov 20th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Could The Potawatomi Casino Help Pay For Light Rail in Milwaukee?
My new Palace Expansion Originally uploaded by marcosparco Here’s a radical thought, let’s leverage casinos to build a transit system in Milwaukee. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer (as reposted by the biglittler blog here), Atlantic City casinos are getting together to fund the operating deficit of express train service between New York City and their boardwalk to appeal to 25-34 year olds who don’t like sitting in traffic. The casinos are contracting with NJ Transit to operate the trains. Read more… Could Milwaukee leverage the Potawatomi Casino in the Menomonee Valley to grease the wheels on funding for a light rail system? Connecting the casino with the new Milwaukee Intermodal Station, Miller Park, the companies in the Menomonee Valley, State Fair Park, and the new UWM campus on the County Grounds (along with the Zoo) would provide a smooth route that connects many major landmarks and a decent amount of jobs. The rest of the central city (the folks who need the system the most) should still be connected with a route that runs up Fond du Lac Avenue from the Intermodal Station (thereby linking up almost all of downtown). Much like Michael Cudahy’s vision.
Nov 19th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Free Public Showing
Rooftop figure Originally uploaded by johndecember MSOE’s new Grohmann Museum will be open to the public for free on Saturday, December 1st from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. I had class in the building all last trimester (there are a couple classrooms in the building), and would recommend you stop in to check it out if you’re in the area. It has a wonderful roof-top sculpture garden, which you’ll be able to get on weather-permitting and take a couple pretty pictures. On the note of the building itself, it’s a wonderful addition to Milwaukee. It’s a renovation of a previously underused and fairly ugly building, and for the first time creates an entry and exit point for the MSOE campus with the Kern Center. Admission is available any other day of the week for $5.
Nov 19th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Cream City November Photowalk A Success
Federal Building Photographers Originally uploaded by compujeramey I attended my first Cream City Photowalk this past Saturday with a bunch of other members of the Cream City (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) photo group on Flickr. If there a measure of photowalking success, where when photos get taken things are a success and when photos don’t it’s not, this event was a success. We walked from John Hawk’s Pub in the 100 East Wisconsin building to the Milwaukee Federal Building, down to Cathedral Square and then back. The cold and the slight drizzle were only to keep some of us back. My photos from the walk are tagged with “creamcityphotowalk2007november“
Nov 19th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
