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Committee Appoints Whitney Gould to Planning Commission
Approving Whitney Gould‘s appointment to the City Plan Commission was the highlight of this meeting. The Committee made it clear that in her former position as the Journal Sentinel’s architecture writer she played an important role in improving Milwaukee’s urban environment and hoped she would bring her enthusiasm and knowledge to the Commission. The Committee also approved resolution 071307 which if approved by the full Common Council will allocate $1.4 Million dollars from the Housing Trust Fund to support five affordable housing projects. One example of these projects is the St. Catherine’s Residence at 1018 E. Knapp Street. It will receive $264,000 to build affordable housing for low-income women and it is already under construction. Alderman Michael Murphy pointed out that this $1.4 million will generate $26 million worth of development and went on to say that these projects do two things “one economic development and… two do the right thing”. The Northwest Side Area Comprehensive Plan was presented again as it had been held before to allow the Department of City Development to address issues that the committee felt the plan didn’t incorporate. Specifically items were added to insure existing rail corridors are reserved for future mass transit options and encouraged creating transit oriented development projects along those rail lines if they are ever converted to passenger service. Other areas of that plan that were improved included refinements of the 76th and Good Hope project, additional recommendations for the vacant transit hub at 76th and Mill, and addressed the potential reuse of Timmerman Airport if it were to be closed. One setback for the project was Alderman Jim Bohl‘s push to remove DCD’s suggested language regarding cul-de-sacs and their desire to better connect streets. This prompted Alderman Mike D’Amato to take a light hearted shot at Bohl by saying, “we hope you haven’t eliminated all the sidewalks from the Northwest side”. Additionally two closed sessions were held to discuss strategy with the City’s lawyers regarding the court case Dawn McCarthy vs. the City of Milwaukee. This case involves the City’s handling of the development of a City owned surface parking lot on Downer Ave. Despite the courts apparent concern the judge hasn’t stopped construction and development continues at a brisk pace.
Jan 31st, 2008 by Dave Reid
The Future of the Milwaukee Coast Guard Station
DSC00669 Originally uploaded by benditlikebecker13 The Daily Reporter has an article that takes a look at the recent events surrounding the proposed demolition of the Milwaukee Coast Guard Station near McKinley Pier. It’s sad to see a landmark go, but the building is reportedly past the state of cost-effective repair. Most importantly, it’s essential that what replaces it encourages the embracing of the lakefront. The planned pavilion seems to largely accomplish this goal. I think there is a still a market for a commercial development, even with the nearby Alterra. One that both embraces the lake and the nearby Lincoln Memorial Drive. Most of the development on the lake is auto-dependent, and it would be nice to see pedestrian-centric development where the old station was, especially with the nearby Brady St pedestrian ramp. You may ask why I’m so in favor of development with a planned park already on the drawing board, but I honestly think we have plenty of open space on our lakefront already. We need something to draw people to that open space outside of holiday weekends, and environmentally-responsible development would help achieve this. Alterra is a great start, but it needs to be paired with something else. Barnes & Noble with an all glass lake facing side? A clothing store? Parks are only useful if there are people there to use them, and all too often I think our Lake Michigan coastline is underutilized. We want people to have a reason to walk and enjoy the lake, not to drive by it at 45 miles an hour.
Jan 30th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
A Word of Warning About Skybus
I had previously hyped up the new low-cost airline Skybus since they started offering service out of Milwaukee. Turns out everything isn’t perfect in Skybus land (or airbus). Consumerist.com brings us a consumer horror story about Skybus.
Jan 25th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
RSC & Associates development moves ahead without TIF
Over the last year a debate raged over the question of “to TIF or not to TIF?” RSC & Associates not only requested city financing but demanded publicly that their Park East Square project required $9.5 million of TIF assistance to be economically feasible. $6.8 million of this city subsidy would of been to build a parking structure believed to be required to support a retail tenant mix including McDonald’s, Subway, PotBelly’s, Noodles & Company and Qdoba. The City’s position was that TIF assistance was not required as this project wasn’t likely to act as a catalyst spurring other development within the city and that the City had already spent millions preparing the Park East land. Additionally a market study conducted by SB Friedman reinforced DCD’s position that within the Park East corridor subsidizing of business would likely lead to a shuffling of business around downtown and not new growth. Clearly RSC & Associates lost the debate with the City regarding TIF assistance and has finally moved forward with a new plan. The new plan and purchase agreement with the County for the 2.1-acre site requires the project to break ground in the next 90 days and will include two hotels, a retail component, 100 apartments and five town homes. It is unfortunate RSC & Associates didn’t stick with their original plan as it didn’t require TIF assistance and would be close to completion by now but it is positive to see the Park East moving forward with another development. Articles Sale of Park East site fulfills county Christmas wishes Milwaukee County closes on sale of Park East lands Milwaukee County closes on sale of Park East parcel Park East project gets tentative start time Momentum suddenly builds in the Park East RSC & Associates to fund own economic analysis City balks at cash for Park East project The Park East Runaround GJLN: City Committee Votes to Compel Project Feasibility Study Developing the Park East Land Chicago group to win bid for Park East parcel
Dec 28th, 2007 by Dave Reid
Merry Christmas Milwaukeeans
Milwaukee County (and the City of Milwaukee) got what it wanted for Christmas with the official sale of the first plot of land in the Park East neighborhood. Did you?
Dec 25th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Word on the Street (12.21.2007)
Information from the infosphere… Seattle mayor Greg Nickels is working on a plan that will encourage all city employees to use public transportation, by giving the free transit passes. Milwaukee should get behind this. The Daily Reporter has a good look at the issues affecting the 27th Street ramp off of Interstate 94. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has made a significant donation to promote the improvement of the Harambee neighborhood. It would be great to see more companies jump on board to help the process along. Neal Peirce has a piece on the rebirth of rail as a well-traveled mode for inter-city movement. He mentions how a leader is Frank Busalacchi, who ironically has been nothing but car happy in the past couple of years (failure of KRM funding source, expansion of I-94). But state initiatives are also vital. Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi heads the “States for Passenger Rail Coalition” of 30 state transportation departments appealing for an 80-20 federal-state funding split to put some real steam behind rail expansion. The National Corridors Initiative is hosting a conference, “Carmichael Conference On The Future of American Transportation“, in St. Louis discussing the promotion and expansion of inter-city rail travel in the United States. I won’t be able to attend because of financial reasons (if you have $300 to pay for the conference and hotel, let me know), but look forward to seeing the results. Inter-city transit is a huge boost for urban areas and Milwaukee could certainly use a boost with more linking with nearby Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine. An intelligent look at how individual route management might work in New York City and does work in Copenhagen. MCTS could use something like this for areas of its system to improve service. Bus design and management should certainly be different for routes that serve UWM and Marquette vs those that serve primarily the workforce.
Dec 21st, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Cramer-Krasselt Moving To Third Ward
Milwaukee Ale House, Water Buffalo, etc, etc. Originally uploaded by compujeramey The nation’s third largest independent advertising firm Cramer-Krasselt, who as you may remember was supposed to move to a Robert Ruvin-development in the Park East neighborhood, has announced that they’re moving from Van Buren Street to the Third Ward. The firm will move to a 50,000 square feet location at 224 E Chicago St above Rubin’s Furniture. They will barely gain any space, but will have what they think is a much more efficient layout (what exactly that means they haven’t too clear about, but let’s assume it’s not a cubicle farm). While the move isn’t a sign of improving health for urban Milwaukee, because they’re simply trading one space for another, it does help cement the fact that the creative types are certainly calling the Third Ward home. The bigger question raised is what type of businesses will call the Park East neighborhood home? Cramer-Krasselt moving into the undeveloped neighborhood certainly would have been a large boost for creative firms, but may not have been as good for the city. The concentration of similar firms seems to be a key ingredient of economic success (see Silicon Valley, Wall Street, or even all the biotech firms in Madison). While for the most part that is seen on a macro level (Silicon Valley is a huge swath of land and includes a few different cities), similar firms locating close to each other in Milwaukee is a strong recruiting tool for each firm and for new startups. It’s going to be a whole lot easier to convince someone from Boston to come to Milwaukee if they know they’re going to be working (and hopefully living) in an area that is filled with like-minded individuals. If they can visit the city and see all the companies in one neighborhood versus being sprinkled all over there will be a lot better first impression made. While the Third Ward continues to draw in creative firms, who will occupy the stretch from the old Pabst brewery eastward?
Dec 11th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
More on Skybus
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a good article on how the economics of Skybus play out. If you were intrigued by my previous report, I suggest you give the JS article a read.
Dec 9th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Community & Economic Development Committee Hears About Milwauee 7
Milwaukee Department of City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux presented a report, file number 070876, on the progress of the Milwaukee 7 initiative. Northwest Side Area Comprehensive Plan,He highlighted the group’s efforts which included 425 site visits, helping to maintain some 2300+ jobs and creating 3300+ news jobs. Another significant highlight of the Milwaukee 7’s progress was the creation of an Immigrant Investment Zone. It gives immigrants permanent resident status if they invest $1,000,000 in new business within the investment zone. During the discussion of the Immigrant Investment Zone a question from the committee asked Marcoux about the possibility of a new World Trade Center building being constructed in Milwaukee. He responded by saying “There’s obviously going to be a cost associated with that, but I think that it will pay big dividends.” Alderman Tony Zielinski brought forward a resolution, file number 071136, directing the Office of Environmental Sustainability to study the feasibility of city financing of solar installations. The plan, based on a study in Berkeley, CA, would fund low interest loans to cover the initial capital costs of installing solar panels allowing for wider adoption of this technology. The Environmental Sustainability Director Ann Beier pointed out that as the use of solar panels grows in new construction that “we know there will be a demand for solar installers in the future”. Making the point that this is a program that not only looks at reducing pollution but this plan could lead to new job growth in an emerging market and new development.
Dec 7th, 2007 by Dave Reid
Zoning Committee Hears the Northwest Side Area Comprehensive Plan
The Northwest Side Area Comprehensive Plan, resolution 070933, was presented to the ZND committee seeking approved but it faced multiple criticisms that needed addressing. First Alderman Bauman explained that the northwest side has significant rail infrastructure and because of this there is “tremendous potential on the Northwest side” for transit oriented development, improved mass transit and enhanced mobility. Unfortunately the plan didn’t include any reference to this infrastructure so Alderman Bob Bauman suggested that the plan “go back to the drawing board.” Secondly, Timmerman Airport came up as multiple committee members expressed the likely hood of the site being redeveloped in the future and that the plan only lightly touched upon the topic. Finally Alderman Jim Bohl promoted suburban style development by expressing his concerns for DCD’s desire to encourage through streets and discourage cul–da-sacks. Due to these issues, the plan was held to allow DCD to incorporate more of these topics into the plan. Resolution 070609 was seeking approval of the Grede Foundry site for redevelopment which required a change in zoning from Industrial-Heavy to General Planned Development. Although some parts of the plan such as multistory buildings fronting the street and parking to be located behind the buildings were appropriate the design also left 65% of the 5 1/4 acres dedicated to surface parking. The committee compared the design to a “suburban office park” and concluded it was not appropriate for a near downtown site. And although Alderman Murphy suggested holding the file, the developer pressed forward prompting Alderman Bauman to make a motion placing it on file which prevailed 5-0 and essentially stopped this project. Resolution 071131 was seeking approval of the sale of the city owned lot located at 1027 N. Edison St to Edison Green, LLC. As was recently reported this eight-story mixed-use development will be located near the eastern terminus of the Highland Ave. pedestrian bridge and will include 25 residential units, first floor retail, office space and a banquet hall. The northern portion of the site will remain green space allowing access for the condos to the north and as part of the developments attempt to gain LEED certification. Further that portion of land also contains MMSD sewer infrastructure and police lines which would make development prohibitively expensive. The building will have five shared Prius cars, mopeds and a community boat allowing residents to go without owning a car or boat. Further the green roof will have hot tubs heated by solar panels and possibly small wind turbines on the roof. In general the neighboring condominium association appeared supportive of the proposal with their remaining concern being access to the green space to access their riverfront yards. The projects innovative and green approach was appreciated by the committee. Alderman Michael Murphy commented that this project is a “very thoughtful idea” but Alderman Wade expressed his appreciation strongest by stating “I got one thing to say Wow!” The resolution was approved with the understanding that the solution to the access issue will be agreed […]
Dec 6th, 2007 by Dave Reid
100 Things To Be Thankful For in Milwaukee
Miller Park Originally uploaded by compujeramey In honor of Thanksgiving, OnMilwaukee.com has released a list of 100 Reasons For Milwaukeeans To Give Thanks. My favorites… 17. Bratwurst from Usinger’s and Klement’s. 89. Speaking of transportation, we’re thankful that Michael Cudahy continues to fight for innovative rail in Milwaukee.
Nov 20th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
Hats Off To The Shepherd Express
Run (literally, it’s cold outside) and pick up the Shepherd Express before the next issue comes out, because the current issues takes an excellent look back at the past 25 years. If you’re geographically or mobility challenged, everything is available online, but you’ll miss out on the great advertisements. The main article is “Still Crazy After All These Years”. Congratulations to the Shepherd Express for providing an alternate voice in Milwaukee for the past 25 years!
Nov 16th, 2007 by Jeramey Jannene
