The Residences Above? Nope

Rumors had circulated for weeks regarding the demise of The Residences Above portion of Ruvin Developments’ Aloft hotel project. Indications such as the website for The Residences Above being down for weeks and their sales sign coming down in record time combined with the market’s downturn made it appear likely that a change in the project was coming. As of last week the final decision hadn’t been made regarding the status of the condominiums. At the time Rob Ruvin had indicated that they would “most likely eliminate the condos” and that they would “possibly increase the size” of the hotel but they were still working it out. It appears now that decisions have been made and The Residences Above have been eliminated from the project.

East Side Apartment Building to be Built Within Existing Zoning

Wangard Properties LLC is in the process of demolishing a vacant nursing home at 1824 E. Park Pl. and plans to build a 61-unit four-story apartment building in its place. Although this development seems fairly minor in comparison to many larger projects it is a great example of building by right. This is a case where the developer recognized that the East Side has seen its share of battles between developers and homeowners. For example in recent years homeowner’s have fought against the re-development of Downer Avenue, the Park Lafayette project, UWM RiverView Hall and the Hillel Student Center arguing “it’s too dense, too tall, it will impact parking, and it doesn’t fit the neighborhood”. The net result of these arguments have been, reduced tax base, less residents to support local business and slowed development. How this project fits into this discussion is that by legal right Wangard Properties LLC can build to their intended height and density according to their existing zoning and stay outside of the public planning process. Although this may concern some, it is important to note that this is the intention of zoning regulation and it is good to see smart developers continuing to develop projects despite the growing difficulties presented by this ever present NIMBY attitude on the East Side.

Bike To Work Week

Bike to Work Week runs from Sunday, May 11th to Friday, May 16th.  If you’re not already biking to work, here is a great chance to give it a go.  If you haven’t experienced urban biking in Milwaukee before, I suggest you take a look at the city-provided map indicating the good streets to ride on. There are a lot of great activities planned.  You’ll be able to find me on my bike downtown everyday as usual, and I’m also planning to attend the Bike-In Movie on Friday night. Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is coordinating everything, and would greatly appreciate it if you registered and took their 30 second survey so they can improve biking in Wisconsin. Sunday, May 11th 2:00 pm, Mother’s Day Bike Ride Along the Lake Join the Pedal Pusher Society for a Mother’s Day bike ride along the lakefront. Location: Alterra by the Lake Requirement: Bring a Mom Monday, May 12th 7:00 – 9:00 am, Daily free coffee, bakery and bicycle commuting information will be available for bike commuters. Alterra Foundry, 170 S. 1st Street Sigma Environmental Group, 1300 W. Canal Street, on the Hank Aaron State Trail Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place, on the Oak Leah Trail 8:30 am, Bike to Work with Mayor Barrett Location: 51st and Washington Blvd. 9:00 am, Press Conference, followed by Bicycle Tour of Milwaukee’s new and planned bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Location: 841 N. Broadway Tuesday, May 13th 7:00 – 9:00 am, Daily free coffee, bakery and bicycle commuting information will be available for bike commuters. Alterra Foundry, 170 S. 1st Street Sigma Environmental Group, 1300 W. Canal Street, on the Hank Aaron State Trail Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place, on the Oak Leaf Trail 6:00 – 10:00 pm, Bike Trivia Night. Awesome prizes and sweet drink specials for only $5.00 Location: Stonefly Brewing, 735 E. Center St. Wednesday, May 14th 7:00 – 9:00 am, Daily free coffee, bakery and bicycle commuting information will be available for bike commuters. Alterra Foundry, 170 S. 1st Street Sigma Environmental Group, 1300 W. Canal Street, on the Hank Aaron State Trail Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place, on the Oak Leah Trail 5:30 pm, Bike to the Brewers Game! Location: Meet up at either 6th and Canal Street or The Outpost, 7000 W. State Street. Auto parking for Canal Street meet-up located at Sigma Environmental Group, 1300 W. Canal St Thursday, May 15th 7:00 – 9:00 am, Daily free coffee, bakery and bicycle commuting information will be available for bike commuters. Alterra Foundry, 170 S. 1st Street Sigma Environmental Group, 1300 W. Canal Street, on the Hank Aaron State Trail Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place, on the Oak Leah Trail Bike to School Day! – Roughly one-third of all traffic congestion is related to dropping kids off at school! Friday, May 16th 7:00 – 9:00 am, Daily free coffee, bakery and bicycle commuting information will be available for bike commuters. Alterra Foundry, 170 S. 1st […]

Third Ward Construction Continues

Breaking Down the 2008-2012 Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee

The 2008-2012 Common Council committee appointments were announced this week and it appears Common Council President Willie Hines, Jr. put together a qualified group to sit on the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee. Alderman James Witkowiak, Chair Alderman Willie Wade, V-C Alderman Michael Murphy Alderman Robert Bauman Alderman T. Anthony Zielinski The biggest change comes at the top of the committee where Alderman Witkowiak will be replacing out going Alderman D’Amato as the committee chairman. Alderman Witkowiak is a good choice for this role because the 5th Ward is starting to take off and the new Chairman will play a large role in shaping future development in the district. Additionally he has extensive experience working on neighborhood issues, from his time as Chairman of the License Committee, that should translate well to ZND. This ability to work with neighborhoods will be critical to the success of the committee due to the consistent need to work on neighborhood complaints surrounding development projects. Returning members Alderman Wade, Alderman Murphy, and Alderman Bauman have not necessarily always agreed on issues but generally work well together and come at an issue with solid arguments. Alderman Wade has shown he understand the value of density and of growing the city through development. Alderman Murphy’s knowledge of passed Common Council actions and his work on water related issues makes him a vital member of this committee. As the City of Milwaukee moves forward on mass transit efforts such as the KRM project, BRT, or the downtown streetcar effort Alderman Bauman’s history with mass transit issues should also be invaluable. Although Alderman Zielinski is new to ZND he brings a background in environmental efforts that could lead the committee to explore more green based zoning initiatives. As a group it will be interesting to watch their handling of projects as they have the characteristics to continue the steady march of redevelopment the City of Milwaukee has seen in recent years.

Bicycle Drive-Thru In Portland, Would It Work In Milwaukee?

Okay, I must confess, I was about to write a blog post about this very thing.  I was going to state how given the right building, someone like Alterra could pull this off (because biking with coffee would be fun!).  Then I came back to reality and realized that the idea was fundamentally flawed. Drive-thrus are about as anti-community as can be.  Sure eventually the teller hands you your food and you smile back at them, but that’s about as social as the process gets.  A line of bikes would be marginally better than Toyotas, but still far from perfect. Going inside a store fosters communication.   It encourages randomly talking to people.  You’re probably not going to become friends with the other people in the store, but you’ll recognize them elsewhere.  The faceless city you live in becomes just a little less anonymous by avoiding drive-thrus.  And in a world that is increasingly detached from the random people around us, every random connection helps.

Wind Power in Lake Michigan

Wind Energy – A New Kind of Power Generation in Panama Originally uploaded by thinkpanama Ryan Horton of the Public Policy Forum took a look at the possibility of wind turbines being built in Lake Michigan about 18 miles from Milwaukee. Horton examines the dollars and cents of the issue and briefly addresses the economic attractiveness boost it might give. He looks at how businesses might be enticed to move to Milwaukee because of the long-term competitive advantage wind power might generate. I think he fails to consider the potential marketing power of the turbines though. What sets Milwaukee apart from Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis? A massive wind power installation could be something that encourages recent college grads to look for employment in Milwaukee. I’m not saying people will move in mass to live in a city powered partially by wind power, but I do think college STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) graduates will be more inclined to come to Milwaukee over other comparable cities if there is a giant wind farm here. Milwaukee isn’t going to be Chicago simply because of scale, but when comparing it with other fresh coast cities a massive wind power installation could convince some that we’re cleaner than others. Milwaukee is currently an after-thought to a lot of college graduates when they look to apply for jobs out-of-state from where they graduated. We have lots of employers here that seem to be in constant need of new talent (Rockwell, Johnson Controls, Direct Supply, Northwestern Mutual, etc), why not build something that not only will help lower their costs long-term, but that also makes Milwaukee itself more appealing? Milwaukee could only benefit from an influx of engineers.

Finally Activity at Park East Square

On December 21st 2007 RSC & Associates signed an agreement to purchase a parcel of land, known as Block 26, in the Park East Freeway corridor from Milwaukee County. It was believed at the time of the sale that RSC & Associates would break ground on two new hotels within a 90 days. Understandably development projects take a time and as this project nears its third year, finally there is a small sign of progress at the site. RSC & Associates have begun erecting the construction fence. Although this project has had a troubled history with its lengthy delays, numerous changes, and squabbling in the press, potentially this project will be getting in the ground and the next development in the Park East will begin to rise this summer.

Ald. Bohl Pushes Commission To Deny Density

A land division request to create twelve lots for single-family housing on the South Side of W. Bobolink Ave and West of W Appleton Ave met criticisms of being to dense and not being consistent with the neighborhood. Although this development is not indicative of the urban development happening throughout the City of Milwaukee it points out the divide between the urban and suburban parts of the city. Throughout the vast majority of the city you’ll find density numbers far in excess of 2.9 households per acre where in this part of the city local Alderman Jim Bohl argued that 2.9 households per acre was too dense for the neighborhood and therefore undesirable. Despite these tremendously low density numbers and evidence presented showing that there are developments in the area with similar density numbers it was apparent Bohl would push for less housing to be built on the site. The commission held this resolution to allow the developer to work with Bohl and the neighborhood on a reworked plan.

BOZA Approves 2040 Lofts Variance

Scion Group‘s $16 million expansion of 2040 Lofts went before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) to obtain a dimensional variance allowing for less parking spots than required by current zoning. Having received conditional approval and support of the local Alderman previously this project has begun construction on the foundation work and is scheduled to be completed in 2009. Despite one neighboring property owner’s concerns regarding parking the board recognized that this is a student housing development and that the demand for parking would be lower than a typical development of this size. In a further attempt to alleviate parking concerns and allow students from Marquette University, MSOE, MIAD and UWM to live within the development, the Scion Group has plans for shuttle buses to run from 2040 Lofts to various destinations throughout the city. Finally it was pointed out during the meeting that if this project was zoned as an apartment building, instead of a rooming house, it would already meet the zoning requirements. The board followed the local Alderman’s recommendation and approved this variance.

The Alterra Story

What makes urban Milwaukee special?  One of those things is certainly committed local businesses.  Alterra Coffee Roasters is certainly one of those companies. Recently the Small Business Times sat down with Alterra’s founders Ward Fowler, Paul Miller, Lincoln Fowler to discuss where the company is headed and how the new Riverwest location on Humboldt fits into that.

Green Vendor in Wisconsin?

If you have a “green” product or service in Wisconsin, now may be your time to shine.  Walmart as part of their sustainability program is looking for Wisconsin-based green products or services including things like organic produce, landscaping services, or recycling services. Definitely worth your time to check out if you’re a producer of any product you can sell as “green”. Let me know if you have any success.  I’m curious if I can sell “urban advocacy” in a bottle.