Aldermen approve borrowing for the new arena
A $47 million city spending plan for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena has won its first Common Council approval, among the final endorsements needed for a $250 million public financing package that includes state and county cash. The council voted 14-1 Tuesday to approve city borrowing for the project, with Ald. Nik Kovac in opposition. The council still has yet to vote on the actual financing package. That should occur later this morning, said Ald. James Bohl, chair of the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee. However, the borrowing authorization is an indicator that the financing package could pass by a wide margin. The only council member who spoke against the financing package prior to the vote on the borrowing authorization was Ald. Mark Borkowski. However, other council members could surface as opponents during the second vote later this morning. The team hopes to have the $500 million arena ready by the October start of the 2017-’18 National Basketball Association season. However, a team executive and co-owner Mike Fascitelli recently acknowledged the arena may not be ready until the 2018-’19 season. The city would pay $30 million to help finance a new 1,243-space parking structure, to be built north of W. Juneau Ave. and east of N. 6th St., in the Park East strip. It would replace a city-owned 1,000-space parking structure, north of W. Highland Ave. and east of N. 4th St., which would be given to the Bucks. The basketball club would eventually demolish that structure, valued at $7.4 million, and replace it with a privately financed entertainment center with restaurants, taverns and possible retail space. Along with paying for the parking structure, the city would spend $17 million building a public plaza between the entertainment center and the new arena, which would be built just north of the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The public plaza would be created by closing one block of N. 4th St., between W. Highland and W. Juneau avenues.
Sep 22nd, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Bacchus’ Nick Wirth
In the latest episode of Chef Talk, Kyle Cherek interviews Nick Wirth, chef de cuisine at Bacchus.
Sep 22nd, 2015 by Dave Reid
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice N. Patrick Crooks dies
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice N. Patrick Crooks died Monday at the court in Madison. Crooks, 77, had announced last week he would not seek re-election at the end of his term next year. Crooks did not appear in person for oral argument before the court on Friday, though he listened on Wisconsin Eye and participated in votes, Chief Justice Patience Roggensack said then.
Sep 21st, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Brewers name David Stearns as new general manager
This afternoon, Brewers chairman and owner Mark Attanasio named David Stearns as the team’s new general manager, taking over for Doug Melvin, who announced last month that he would be stepping down from the position. The 30-year-old Stearns comes over to the Brewers after serving three years as assistant general manager with the Houston Astros, who are currently in the midst of the playoff hunt after several seasons of rebuilding. Before his time with the Astros, the New York native and Harvard graduate spent one year as director of baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians and three years with MLB’s central office, most recently holding the position of manager of labor relations. He also worked in the baseball operations departments of the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Fall League. “David is a rising star in Major League Baseball and has been an integral part of the rebuilding of an Astros organization that has begun to reap the benefits of his efforts,” Attanasio said. “David’s philosophy and skill set are an ideal match for the Brewers. His proven leadership and diverse set of talents will position us to consistently compete for a World Series championship.” “This has been a position that I coveted for numerous reasons,” Stearns said. “First, I’m excited to continue building on what I believe is already a solid foundation of young talent with the Brewers, particularly in the minor league system. And as someone coming from the outside, I’m impressed with the strong relationship between the community and the club. “The fan support is incredible, and I know that they will be behind us as we create something special here. I want to thank Mark Attanasio for bringing me on board, and appreciate all of the hard work that has been done by Doug Melvin and everyone at the Brewers to make this such a special opportunity.” Stearns will officially take on his new role as Brewers GM on Monday, Oct. 5.
Sep 21st, 2015 by Dave Reid
Convicted alderman returns to politics as unpaid campaign adviser
Former Milwaukee Ald. Jeff Pawlinski suggested that he was going to put politics in his rearview mirror when he was sentenced to eight months behind bars for swiping nearly $40,000 from his campaign account. “This is the last page of the last chapter of this part of my life story,” Pawlinski told a federal judge in 2003. But it’s hard to get politics out of your blood, even when you’re led away from City Hall in handcuffs. In recent months, Pawlinski has worked as an unpaid adviser for the campaign of newly elected Ald. Mark Borkowski, a longtime Milwaukee County supervisor who is filling the seat left vacant after Ald. Joe Dudzik‘s death in a May motorcycle accident. Pawlinski was front and center during Borkowski’s swearing-in ceremony earlier this month. Now the former south side pol is providing more unpaid advice to another Milwaukee aldermanic candidate,Christopher Wiken, in his bid to win Pawlinski’s old seat. Wiken, the owner of The Packing Houserestaurant in Milwaukee, announced earlier this year that he is hoping to take on Ald. Terry Witkowski, who represents the far south side district. “It’s just these two (candidates),” Pawlinski said in a recent interview. “They are really close friends.” In fact, Pawlinski — who works in sales and marketing for a home health agency — said he has known Borkowski and Wiken for more than 25 years. It’s simply a coincidence that the two were running for office around the same time, he said. Pawlinski, 49, acknowedged that he misses government and politics. In 2003, he resigned his aldermanic seat after agreeing to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud for taking $39,224.03 from his campaign accounts. He said he used the political money for personal purposes because he had experienced a lot of financial problems, especially after a divorce. Today, he said he can’t jump back into campaign and political work full time because he has his hands full with work and family. But don’t expect Pawlinski to disappear from the local political scene. “I didn’t get paid. I am not going to get paid,” he said of his first two stints as political adviser. But Pawlinski added: “At some point, I’d like to do political consulting in a paid capacity.”
Sep 21st, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Milwaukee’s The Boerke Company maintains alliance with Cushman & Wakefield
Milwaukee’s The Boerke Company will continue its alliance with Cushman & Wakefield after Cushman’s merger with international real estate company DTZ. Many Midwest companies that were affiliated with Cushman & Wakefield announced that they would leave the company after the DTZ merger. Several of the Midwest firms doing so are located in markets that already have a DTZ CRE company in operation. The Boerke Company entered its alliance with Cushman & Wakefield in 2006. “For nearly 100 years, our firm has maintained a commitment to providing market-leading commercial real estate services in Milwaukee,” said Andrew Jensen, managing partner of The Boerke Company, in a statement. “We have the same team providing unparalleled insight, backed by decades of local experience.”
Sep 21st, 2015 by Dave Reid
Mandel’s Monnat sees regional buy-in as key to downtown Milwaukee’s future
Bob Monnat of developer Mandel Group Inc. said regional partnerships and suburban visitors are the key to continuing downtown Milwaukee’s growth beyond the arena, Northwestern Mutual $450 corporate headquartersand other current projects. If residents through the entire metropolitan region treat downtown as their neighborhood, visit attractions and spend money there, the renaissance will continue, said Monnat, chief operating officer of the Milwaukee development company. His thoughts came during the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Downtown Renaissance event. See that attached video for more of Monnat’s thoughts on downtown Milwaukee.
Sep 21st, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Milwaukee Bucks arena funding likely to win Common Council support
Months of lobbying by the Milwaukee Bucks and their business-community supporters will likely carry the day as the Milwaukee Common Council votes Tuesday on a $47 million city contribution to the $500 million downtown arena project. The Common Council meeting is expected to provide the last political approval the Bucks need to finalize public sources for $250 million in taxpayer funding. The question is whether council members will approve amendments to the city’s terms that go against an agreement Mayor Tom Barrett and his staff negotiated with the Bucks owners. whether to close North Fourth Street immediately east of the new arena to create a public plaza and; whether to increase to 40 percent from 30 percent the percentage of city residents the Bucks need to hire on construction of the new arena, a new parking structure and the so-called “live block” outdoor entertainment zone east of the arena. The council is expected to vote on each amendment separately. If an amendment is approved, it will be added to the main resolutions the council will consider. Milwaukee Ald. Bob Bauman won committee support Sept. 15 for his amendment on Fourth Street. He wants the street to remain open except on days or nights when there are events or games at the new arena. The Bucks say they need to create a new plaza that would link the arena with the new “live block” activity area between Fourth Street and North Old World Third Street. Bauman told me he believes the arena funding will win Common Council approval. He also believes his amendment might fail to make the final version of the funding resolutions. On the city-resident-hiring amendment, the Bucks had agreed to hire 30 percent of construction workers from the city of Milwaukee and 10 percent from Milwaukee County. The Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee upped the city-hiring figure to 40 percent. The zoning committee also approved Bauman’s proposed amendment that requires naming-rights revenue from the new arena parking structure to go to the city rather than the Bucks. The Bucks will lead the construction process under a lease and development agreement with the Wisconsin Center District. An executive with the arena’s most consistent and outspoken backer the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce predicts Common Council passage of the funding resolutions. “We are optimistic that the Common Council will not miss this once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the city’s image and economy,” said Steve Baas, the MMAC’s vice president of government affairs. Opponents of city funding for the arena likely will make their voices heard at the council meeting including the Common Ground community group and some city residents concerned the new “live block” area bars and restaurants will hurt existing establishments. Also alderman and mayoral candidate Joe Davis is seeking a minority-business requirement for the arena district. Although the Common Council’s vote likely will complete the arena-funding policy, construction cannot start until several other events occur. Those include Wisconsin Center District chairman Scott Neitzel negotiating a 30-year arena lease and […]
Sep 21st, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
City weighs new Silk Exotic plan, settlement with strip club
Silk Exotic‘s latest attempt to open a downtown Milwaukee club featuring mostly nude dancers faces opposition when it undergoes Common Council review Tuesday, even as the city tries to settle litigation from an earlier rejection of the business. The council’s Licenses Committee is recommending against tavern and public entertainment licenses for Simplified Investments LLC, owned by Jon Ferraro. Ferraro wants to operate a 13,000-square-foot Silk Exotic tavern on the top floor of a vacant four-story office building at 804 N. Milwaukee St., one block west of Cathedral Square. Silk Exotic operates clubs at 11400 W. Silver Spring Road, on Milwaukee’s far northwest side, and in Juneau and Middleton. Ferraro has tried repeatedly since 2010 to open a downtown Milwaukee location, with the council rejecting those license applications. The latest vote occurred in December, when applications for two Walker’s Point sites were denied. In February, a federal jury awarded Silk Exotic’s owners $435,500 in a lawsuit tied to an earlier dispute with the city over opening a downtown establishment. The owners also are seeking $480,000 in attorney’s fees from city taxpayers. The city, which is appealing that verdict, is in settlement negotiations with Silk Exotic’s owners, said Ald. Ashanti Hamilton. Hamilton, at Thursday’s Licenses Committee hearing, proposed delaying a vote on the applications “to allow us to work through some of those issues.” That motion was supported by Ald. Mark Borkowski. Ald. Tony Zielinski, Ald. Nik Kovac and Ald. Robert Puente opposed the delay. The committee then voted, 3-2, to reject the Silk Exotic applications, with Hamilton and Borkowski in opposition to that motion. Those votes came after several downtown east side business operators, property owners and residents told committee members they’re opposed to Silk Exotic’s plan, saying it would bring increased parking congestion, panhandling, noise, crime and other problems. Opponents included Beth Weirick, executive director of the Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District; Matthew Panhans, interim president of Milwaukee School of Engineering, which operates Krueger Hall next to the proposed site; Kevin Behl, executive director of Madison Medical Affiliates, which operates a nearby clinic, and Richard Abdoo, a downtown resident and retired Wisconsin Energy Corp. chief executive officer. Ferraro said he’s operated his other clubs without causing trouble. That claim was supported for the Silver Spring Road location by police records and Chaz Hastings, owner of the neighboring Milwaukee Harley-Davidson dealership. Supporters for the proposed Milwaukee St. location included managers from two downtown taverns and restaurants, Ward’s House of Prime and Fire on Water, who said out-of-town patrons ask for recommendations for exotic dance clubs. Also, Ferraro said he would provide 200 valet parking spaces at nearby structures.
Sep 20th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Disagreement on closing street could affect Bucks arena plan
Tuesday’s upcoming Common Council debate on whether the city should provide $47 million to help finance a new $500 million Milwaukee Bucks arena could include a clash over that development’s outdoor plaza. The basketball club, and Mayor Tom Barrett‘s administration, want to permanently close one block of N. 4th St., between W. Highland and W. Juneau avenues. That block would be part of a public plaza between the arena and a planned entertainment center, and a big part of the city financing proposal. But the council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, in the Sept. 15 vote endorsing the financing package, also recommended keeping the street open, and closing it only for basketball games and other events. Ald. Robert Bauman, who proposed the change, supports the plaza. But the city should otherwise keep the street open when events aren’t occurring, he said. City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux and Bucks President Peter Feigin oppose the change, saying it would hurt efforts to make the arena, entertainment center and plaza a safe and attractive destination for pedestrians. The committee recommended the zoning package on a 4-1 vote. A 3-2 vote approved Bauman’s amendment, which a council majority could modify during Tuesday’s meeting. That’s what the Bucks hope will happen. “We’re continuing to work closely in good faith with the city and Common Council to address the significant issues raised, and are confident we’ll make significant progress by Tuesday,” Jake Suski, Bucks senior vice president for communications and broadcast, said in a statement. ‘Seamless piece’ A permanent street closing would help better connect the arena,entertainment center and nearby N. Old World 3rd St.’s bars and restaurants, Marcoux told zoning committee members. The privately financed entertainment center would be developed east of N. 4th St., between W. Highland and W. Juneau avenues, replacing a city-owned parking structure. That parking structure is a barrier to connecting N. Old World 3rd St. to the arena, Marcoux said. The Bucks’ plans include creating two walkwaysbetween the entertainment center and that street. One team source said allowing N. 4th St. to remain open would create major challenges to how the arena is designed. That’s because a permanent street closing allows the arena to be built closer to the public plaza. Some of that plaza space would accommodate people lining up for ticket sales, and doing other activities, even when games and other events aren’t happening, that source said. The plaza would be tied to a lot more events than just Bucks and Marquette University basketball games, Feigin said at the zoning meeting. He told committee members the arena could host over 200 events annually “if we do this well.” That includes basketball games, other sporting events and concerts. “Traffic for this is really a deterrent for part of this vision,” Feigin said. “We really want this to be one cohesive, seamless piece.” Most drivers coming to downtown through the Park East strip use either N. Old World 3rd St. or N. 6th St., not N. 4th St., Marcoux said. […]
Sep 20th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
East Town Association’s Emily McElwee
OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: How long have you been doing your job? Emily McElwee: I started working at East Town Association in April 2009. I have had seven Jazz in the Park and Bastille Days filled summers. I am the assistant director. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What time of year is your favorite in Milwaukee and why? McElwee: I love summer – don’t we all? – but my favorite season is early fall. This transitional time we are in right now is the best time of the year. I love the feeling of big changes Downtown as MSOE students return to school and things begin to quiet down. The weather is still wonderful and the outdoors are open for exploration. I love sweaters and tea and running down the bike path off of Mason Street under a canopy of yellow and orange leaves. My body heats up but my nose and fingertips feel the bite of the fall air. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your favorite or least favorite smell in Milwaukee? McElwee: My favorite AND least favorite smell in Milwaukee is the smell of the lake, specifically the way it smells near the lighthouse behind the Summerfest grounds. It’s kind of stinky, but it’s home. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What neighborhood do you live in? McElwee: I live in the Murray Hill / Downer Avenue neighborhood on the East Side. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your hope for Milwaukee? McElwee: I hope that Milwaukee kids will have the coats and gloves they need this winter. I hate thinking about kids waiting for their buses without coats. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: When and how did you fall in love with Milwaukee? McElwee: I am from Shorewood, but went to high school at Pius XI on 76th and Bluemound. From a pretty young age I was getting to know people from all over town by driving through the city and into the city to see friends. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love living here. But falling in love happened later. After visiting many other cities, I was able to recognize what so many others have also recognized: Milwaukee is an amazingly accessible city full of fantastically diverse neighborhoods. Most cities as culturally rich as Milwaukee are not so easy to navigate and I love that I can take advantage of all of it, easily. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: Why do you do what you do? McElwee: I work at East Town for the summers. I love the hustle and exhaustion of running a minimum of two major events a week, and the pleasure of seeing so many happy people meeting and mixing and enjoying the work we do here. It’s amazing to have a job that gives Milwaukeeans a place to enjoy each other’s company. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your one guilty pleasure? McElwee: Buffalo chicken soup, Tuesdays only at the Soup House on Michigan. Oh my goodness. So […]
Sep 20th, 2015 by Dave Reid
State high court reinstates law license for Hurtgen
Madison— Investment banker and political insider P. Nicholas Hurtgen has had his law license reinstated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court after overcoming federal corruption charges in Illinois. Hurtgen filed a motion in September 2014 to have his Wisconsin law license reinstated after having his federal charges dismissed with the help of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the separate criminal case of former Enron Corp. executive Jeffrey Skilling. That 2010 ruling narrowed the definition of the “honest services” fraud statute relied upon by U.S. Justice Department prosecutors to convict Skilling. The Supreme Court said the law applies only to bribes and kickbacks. Hurtgen was a one-time aide to then-Gov. Tommy Thompson who built a career and a nest egg by winning government-issued bond deals for the Chicago office of Bear Stearns, the global securities and investment firm that collapsed and was sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2008. Before facing criminal charges, Hurtgen had built strong ties to then-County Executive Scott Walker and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who supported Hurtgen’s effort to win back his law license. But Hurtgen’s career was cut short when he was charged as part of the corruption investigation of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Early in 2009, Hurtgen pleaded guilty to threatening to deny state permission for a suburban hospital expansion if the hospital’s chief didn’t hire a contractor favored by Blagojevich. Prosecutors recommended a 221/2-month sentence in exchange for Hurtgen’s cooperation. “Mr. Hurtgen never considered himself guilty of anything unlawful, but he believed the risks of a jury trial exceeded the potential penalty that would have resulted from the plea bargain he was offered,” Hurtgen’s petition to the Wisconsin Supreme Court reads. Hurtgen is now the operating director of City Capital Advisors, an investment bank in Chicago, and said in his petition that he would be using the law license “in his own business affairs.” As part of regaining his license, Hurtgen must pay the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation $1,512 to cover the costs of the process. Justice David Prosser, who would have served as a Republican lawmaker in the Assembly during Hurtgen’s time as a Thompson aide, did not participate in the decision.
Sep 18th, 2015 by Dave Reid
