Milwaukee

From the Article:

A quickly-expanding trail could soon link Milwaukee’s South Side and southern suburbs with Lake Michigan.

The City of Milwaukee and three suburban cities are moving forward on a study of expanding the Powerline Trail. The completed trail would roughly parallel Howard Avenue from S. 104th St. all the way east to Lake Michigan. A northern leg would parallel Interstate 894, running north to the Zoo Interchange and Hank Aaron State Trail.

The central portion of the 10-foot-wide paved trail was recently completed and a second segment is expected to join it later this year.

In 2022, the City of Greenfield opened the $1.5 million first phase between the intersection of S. 99th Street and W. Cold Spring Road and the intersection of S. 60th Street and W. Plainfield Avenue. An on-street segment on W. Cold Spring Road links the three-mile trail with the Oak Leaf Trail just west of S. 104th Street.

A $1.2 million second phase, slated for construction in 2024, will extend the trail east into the city of Milwaukee. The trail will be extended east from S. 60th Street to S. 35th Street, Pondview Park and Zablocki Park. State-administered federal grants are covering most of the construction costs of the first two segments.

A $250,000 study is now about to begin to design a trail extension east of Pondview Park to Lake Michigan and north from the trail’s western terminus toward the Hank Aaron State Trail. Additional efforts could see the trail extended southwest.

From the Article:

The $148 million project to offer north-south commuter bus service on 27th Street starting in 2028 took a step forward Monday with a route endorsement from a Milwaukee County Board committee.

That 18-mile “Connect 2” route would span almost the entire county, running from Bayshore mall in Glendale to the Ikea store in Oak Creek. The new BRT, or Bus Rapid Transit, service would replace the existing PurpleLine bus route. It would run faster, with more frequent service at stations to be a more practical alternative for commuting workers.

The east-west Connect 1 BRT route between downtown Milwaukee and Wauwatosa began passenger service in June 2023.

Pending additional approvals, construction could begin in 2026 for a start of passenger service in 2028, according to a Monday presentation to the Milwaukee County Board’s Committee on Transportation and Transit. That committee unanimously endorsed the route for the Connect 2 line, sending it to the full County Board for a possible approval on March 21.

County Board approval for that locally preferred route is a necessary step for the BRT to continue its planning and start more detailed engineering work, said David Locher, manager of enhanced transit for the Milwaukee County Transit System. The route can still be changed in the future, and more steps are needed in order to spend federal construction funds, Locher said.

“It’s a milestone to get us on to other milestones,” Locher said.

The bulk of the project’s funding would come through the Federal Transit Administration’s Small Starts grant program. Milwaukee County funding would cover about 20% of the budget.

The line would run primarily on 27th Street, with 64 stations serving 32 destinations. Those include a stop at 27th Street and Drexel Avenue outside the Franklin office campus that Northwestern Mutual intends to close and eventually sell as it moves those 2,000 jobs to downtown Milwaukee in 2027.

That announcement came about a year ago. The planning for the north-south Connect 2 line began in 2020.

County Board Supervisor Patti Logsdon asked about the impact of Northwestern Mutual’s move on the anticipated route.

“I’m sure that’s got to have a big effect on the ridership,” she said.

Locher said that even without Northwestern Mutual employees, “the ridership continues to be very strong.” The existing PurpleLine, like the proposed Connect 2, goes south to Ikea.

“Our commitment has always been to invest where the ridership is the highest,” he said. “At the outset of the study, yes, there was that NML component with their campus on the south end. There were even early discussions of maybe it could route through there. Front-door service.”

From the Article:

A cherished liquor store that's been on Milwaukee's east side since 1934 is embarking on a new journey with new ownership.

"This has been a long time in the making," said Sarah Zimmerman.

Tonit Calaway and Sarah Zimmerman, of Boss Babes, Inc., have recently acquired Downer Wine & Spirits.

"Tonit and I are both attorneys and so we come from a legal background," explained Zimmerman.

Both women are longtime residents of the Downer Avenue neighborhood. Zimmerman said she and her husband moved to the area nearly 17 years ago.

"We've been coming here as customers ever since we started living here," she added.

When the friends heard brothers Mark and Steve Nord were selling their store after about 18 years, they had to jump in on the opportunity.

"Downer Avenue thrives when it's bustling, when all the storefronts are full, and we really wanted to contribute to keeping that going. We didn't want to see another vacant spot," Zimmerman said.

For 90 years, this wine and liquor store has been at this exact location under similar names and different ownership, all while still maintaining their diverse selection.

Manager Michael Morris has been working at the liquor store since 2006.

"We try to have some of the best beer and wine and liquor that's available out there," he told CBS 58 News.

Morris said it's no surprise many customers, like Zimmerman and Calaway, always come back.

"We try everything that comes into the store and make sure that everything's great, so that you can pick anything out and it's going to be a quality good product," he added.

Zimmerman said the essence of the neighborhood staple will remain intact under new ownership.

From the Article:

A little over five months since the Downer Theatre unexpectedly closed, the organization behind the annual Milwaukee Film Festival said it will assume operations of the movie theater next month, starting with the 2024 running of the film festival followed by regular movie showings afterward.

The Downer Theatre, at 2589 N. Downer Ave., was the city's oldest operating theater when it closed in September 2023. It was operated by Landmark Theatres, and the building is owned by Bridge33 Capital LLC of Seattle, which owns 61,000 square feet of building spaces on both sides of Downer Avenue, which house businesses including Cafe Hollander, Stone Creek Coffee and Boswell Book Co.

In a press release, Milwaukee Film did not disclose the nature of its business arrangement with the theater, whether it is being purchased or leased. An organization representative did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

The 2024 Milwaukee Film Festival is scheduled for April 11 through April 25 and will include screenings at the Downer Theatre, Milwaukee Film’s Oriental Theatre, and two other local theaters, the Avalon Theater and the Times Cinema. The festival will revive the Downer starting April 12.

Susan Mikulay, chair of Milwaukee Film’s board of directors, said the Downer has been a cornerstone of Milwaukee's cinematic and cultural scene since its opening in 1915. After the closure, Milwaukee Film made its interest in the theater public.

"Our mission has always been to make cinematic experiences possible for as many people as possible, and expanding our footprint in this way is a key next step in doing that,” Mikulay said in a press release.

Beginning April 26, the Downer will offer a year-round program of first-run independent, foreign and documentary films, curated by Milwaukee Film's programming team.

“Our being able to reopen the Downer this spring is a significant occasion for our organization as well as for the neighborhood,” said Cara Ogburn, artistic director at Milwaukee Film. “When the Downer closed last year, it meant that many films could not show on screens in our city. Adding these two screens to our footprint will allow us to better serve our community with high-quality films year-round.”

The Downer will become the second former Landmark Theatre to be acquired by Milwaukee Film. In 2017, the organization took control of the Oriental Theatre on Milwaukee's east side and embarked on a multiyear, multimillion-dollar restoration project. At that time, the organization also publicly expressed its interest in the Downer Theater.

From the Article:

Ethan Hawke – four-time Oscar-nominee, noted Rihanna appreciator and silver fox – is on his way to Milwaukee. Hawke will be in town for two screenings of his new film, Wildcat, on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre.

Wildcat, which Hawke directed and co-wrote, stars his daughter, Maya Hawke, as Flannery O’Connor, the mid-20th-century author of A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge and more. The film follows the legendary Southern Gothic writer at the age of 24, when she was diagnosed with lupus (a disease that would eventually take her life). The diagnosis inspires her to explore her Catholic faith and her belief in the power of art, as she begins to compose her greatest stories.

From the Article:

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signed legislation Wednesday providing $500,000 for park projects and workforce spending.

The funding, although just a small piece of the overall Milwaukee County Parks budget for 2024, was made possible by the new 0.4% countywide sales tax that went into effect in January.

The new sales tax came thanks to a lobbying effort by the city and county for legislative authority from the state to generate additional revenue and reform the pension systems that were dragging on the budgets of both governments. The additional revenue provided the county with the first budget surplus in decades.

“And what that means is that rather than determining what cuts will be least harmful to this community, it gave us an opportunity to look at what investments can we actually make to deploy the most beneficial investments for all of our residents within Milwaukee County,” County Executive Crowley said during the signing event at Tiefenthaler Park.

The Milwaukee County Board earmarked the funding in the 2024 budget and asked Milwaukee County Parks to return to them with a plan to spend the money. Parks developed a list of ideas it’s calling “high-impact” projects, which the department can implement quickly and be recognized by county residents this year.

Tiefenthaler Park in Midtown received one of the larger allocations in the package: $100,000. Parks will use the funding to turn a wading pool into a splash pad and upgrade lighting and pathways throughout the park. The upgrades are intended to enhance the upgrades already made at the park by the Kellogg Peak Initiative, which essentially turned a park pavilion into a community center.

From the Article:

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) has operated battery electric buses for less than a year, and in light of a spotty first nine months and changing “market realities,” officials are planning to only purchase clean-diesel buses in the near term.

Top transportation officials have been suggested in recent months that ordering new BEBs is not a good idea for the county. One of the primary reasons is that there aren’t any manufacturers in the U.S. market officials trust. The BEB manufacturer MCTS purchased the county’s first BEBs from left the U.S. market in 2023 and isn’t accepting new orders. And on top of it all, the technology has not proven itself reliable and the buses are incredibly expensive.

Officials from MCTS and the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will go before the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in March seeking changes to the county policy for battery electric buses and fleet replacement.

Officials are proposing that the county continue to replace aging buses with new clean-diesel buses. Additionally, transitioning to an alternative fuel source bus will be paused until “these vehicles are further tested, easily available, determined to be fiscally sustainable and have the appropriate infrastructure deployed within Milwaukee,” according to the draft policy.

This would tweak the county’s existing policy, which only held off on transitioning the fleet from diesel to battery electric until the end of a BEB pilot program, which was the implementation of 11 BEBs along the Connect 1 bus rapid transit line.

From the Article:

In what will now amount to a total $100 million investment, St. Augustine Preparatory Academy said Tuesday that it will demolish several buildings on the former Cardinal Stritch University campus and construct new buildings as it plans a fall 2026 opening of a north campus for the K4-12 Christian school.

The investment amount includes the $24 million price for acquiring the property, the school said in a press release. The 43.5-acre site in Glendale and Fox Point became available last spring after Cardinal Stritch announced that it would discontinue operations following its commencement ceremony in May.

The investment is twice the $50 million that was initially planned to rework the campus.

The school will be known as Aug Prep North and is expected to open in fall 2026 with just over 300 students in grades K4-6th and 9th. It will grow to serve 1,000-plus students in grades K4-12.

A second phase — beyond the $100 million investment — is envisioned for the future, which would eventually build capacity to reach 2,000-plus students.

St. Augustine Prep was founded by Gus and Becky Ramirez and has quickly grown to become one of the top-rated K4-12 schools in Wisconsin, according to the press release. The Ramirez family and Husco International, a lead benefactor of Aug Prep, have committed $75 million in the first phase at Aug Prep North. A fundraising campaign, initially targeting $15 million, has been increased to $25 million, with over $5.5 million already raised.

From the Article:

The Target store that opened at Bayshore in 2021 was listed for sale this month for almost $14.4 million, along with two other buildings at the Glendale mall.

The Target store's sale isn’t likely to affect its operations, as a buyer would want the property because the national retailer is leasing the building and paying rent. There are 11 years remaining on Target’s lease for the building, plus options to extend that for up to 50 more years, according to the marketing materials for the property.

That Target store is an anchor for the most recent redevelopment of Bayshore. Mall manager Cypress Equities, of Dallas, built the two-story Target on the footprint of the mall’s former Boston Store, which closed in 2018. Cypress also tore down portions of the enclosed mall at Bayshore, opening land for new apartments and other additions.

Bayshore, through a spokesperson, on Tuesday issued an emailed response to questions about the attempt to sell the Target. The listing to sell the building to an investor is a “standard course of operational business in the real estate industry,” according to Bayshore’s statement.

SRS Capital Markets’ Chicago office is listing the Target store for sale, along with two other standalone buildings at Bayshore. The marketing materials say Bayshore ranks in the 97th percentile among U.S. shopping centers with 5.5 million annual visits in 2023, according to data compiled by Placer.ai.

“The subject property affords an investor the rare opportunity to acquire a generational legacy asset leased to one of the premier retailers in the world, with unmatched underlying intangibles, while further mitigating risk with far-below market rent and an acquisition price substantially below replacement cost,” the materials state.

The property has 128,512 square feet of rentable building space on 3.57 acres.

Also for sale is the Bayshore building at 5600 N. Bayshore Drive that houses First Citizens Bank and Crumbl Cookies. Its asking price is $3.28 million. The U.S. Bank branch at Bayshore is also for sale, with a $4.67 million asking price.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming RNC?

From the Article:

It’s time to grab your ID and head to the polls. There is an election Tuesday.

Though all eyes are on Wisconsin’s role in the November presidential election, Milwaukee voters can go to the polls this spring to reshape who leads city and county government.

Tuesday’s primary election will narrow the field to two candidates in four races, with many more winner-take-all contests between two candidates to follow on April 2. Only races with three or more candidates appear on the primary ballot.

All city of Milwaukee voters will find a three-way race for mayor on the ballot. Incumbent Cavalier Johnson is vying for a full four-year term against two challengers.

But voters in three select areas of Milwaukee will also find a legislative race on their ballot. On the southwest side, there is a three-way race to replace retiring alderman Mark Borkowski. In the north-central portion of the city, there is a four-way race to replace alderman Khalif Rainey, who opted not to run for reelection after two terms.

The final race will appear on the ballot for residents of the city’s far northwest side. Incumbent Deanna Alexander faces two challengers to retain her seat on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

From the Article:

Kehr’s Candies made an announcement last Friday that was as bittersweet as its hand-dipped chocolates.

The confectionery will leave its longtime post at the Milwaukee Public Market at the end of the month, but will continue to offer its products for deliveries, curbside pickup and, eventually, pop-ups.

Owners Katey and Paul Martinka announced the news in a social media post, noting that the transition will allow them to step away from “the demands that come with a brick-and-mortar detail candy business.” The pair also shared their gratitude for the Milwaukee Public Market and the Historic Third Ward Association.

Kehr’s Candies joined the then-new Public Market in 2006, occupying a prime spot at the center of the bustling food hall, 400 N. Water St. The business’s history, however, stretches back much further. Pearl and B.D. Kehr first launched Kehr’s in 1930, offering homemade caramel corn and potato chips. They later expanded to sell chocolate fudge and other candies, slowly adding additional products as they acquired new recipes.

The store occupied several Milwaukee buildings before settling in at 3533 W. Lisbon Ave. in the mid-1950s. More than 75 years later, the space is still in use as a production kitchen for Kehr’s.

Paul joined the business at the age of 18, working as a stock boy under the Kehr’s son, Bill. After spending 12 years learning the ins and outs of the candy-making trade, Paul took over as owner in 1995. Today, Kehr’s chocolatiers continue to reference B.D. Kehr’s original recipes and use many of the same tools as the founder.

From the Article:

After an almost four-year closure, the Rosebud Cinema on North Avenue in Wauwatosa has officially reopened.

The nearly 100-year-old, single-screen movie theater opened in 1931 at 6823 W. North Ave. It is operated by the Neighborhood Theater Group.

The Neighborhood Theater Group owns three movie theaters in Wisconsin. Along with the Rosebud, the company owns and operates the Avalon Theater on South Kinnickinnic Avenue and Times Cinema on West Vliet Street.

The Times Cinema recently shared on social media that it would be transitioning away from regularly scheduled film programming to special public or private events. The only movie screenings currently listed on The Times Cinema's website are its Friday Night Freak Show series presented by WMSE-FM (91.7), which include screenings on Feb. 16, March 15 and April 19.

Back in late November of 2023, the Rosebud Cinema announced its reopening, which was then slated for Jan. 8.

The Rosebud Cinema is screening its first movies on Feb. 14. The theater currently lists showtimes through Feb. 29 on its website.

Milwaukee's movie theater scene experienced many changes in 2023.

In early September 2023, Marcus Theatres closed down three of its Milwaukee-area cinemas, Marcus Southgate Cinema, Marcus Showtime Cinema and Marcus Saukville Cinema. In late September, the Downer Theatre, which was the city's oldest operating theater, unexpectedly closed its doors. It had been open at 2589 N. Downer Ave. since December 1915.

Milwaukee Film Festival organizer Milwaukee Film had previously expressed an interest in acquiring the Downer Theatre but has not made any recent comments about progress.

From the Article:

A Milwaukee County-backed affordable housing project in Whitefish Bay is back on track after it was blocked by a village commission in January. On Tuesday, the Village’s Board of Appeals overturned an architectural review board decision.

Spoerl Development LLC is planning to build a three-story, 17-unit affordable apartment building, called The Hampton, at 4800-4818 N. Santa Monica Blvd. The site is located at the intersection of N. Santa Monica Boulevard and E. Hampton Road, near the border of Whitefish Bay and Shorewood. The intersection is considered one of the gateways to the village.

The project was designed to be in compliance with village zoning, and only needed approval for permitting. It went before the village Architectural Review Commission (ARC) twice, and during the second meeting, in December, the project was denied.

The denial proved controversial, as the Milwaukee County Housing Division had just awarded the project $3.2 million, with authorization from the county Board of Supervisors, to support the creation of affordable housing. “It just so happens that the same day this project went to the ARC that the county announced their grant for us, for an affordable housing development,” the developer Brian Spoerl, told Urban Milwaukee in January.

Expanding affordable housing, with a special attention to housing options in the suburbs, has been a policy priority of the county’s Housing Division under County Executive David Crowley.

According to a “Finding of Facts” produced by the commission, the project was rejected based upon a handful of considerations including concerns about local property values, parking; a subjective notion that one of the walls was “cold” and “not residential feeling”; and that it “still doesn’t feel like Whitefish Bay.”

From the Article:

Concordia University in suburban Milwaukee will likely cut staff in the face of “financial instability” according to a spokesperson for the university.

University President Erik Ankerberg sent an email to students and staff Feb. 13 saying the university’s campuses in Mequon and in Ann Arbor, Michigan must reduce costs to operate sustainably.

“Concordia University is taking these necessary steps to continue to fulfill its mission,” a statement from the university said.

According to the university, property, facilities and equipment on the campus in Michigan will likely be sold. The statement did not detail how many jobs would be cut.

Both universities are a part of the Concordia University System, a nationwide network of colleges and universities that are run independently but are all affiliated with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The two campuses merged in 2013 when Ann Arbor “could not obtain needed cash flow.”

Enrollment has grown on average over the last decade. The suburban Milwaukee campus enrolled 6,274 students during the 2022-23 school year, compared to 1,359 students in Ann Arbor. Since 2013, enrollment at the Michigan campus has more than doubled.

The announcement comes after university staff completed a financial review on Feb. 1. Concordia’s tax forms show the school has run a deficit in five of the last six years, ranging from $2 million to $6.3 million.

Benjamin Brenckle is a senior at Concordia University Wisconsin, studying music education. He said when he first heard the news, he was worried.

“I just kind of get concerned that because we don’t have as many people in the degree that we might lose the program or we might lose our staff,” Brenckle said.

Brenckle said his professors have assured him that the Wisconsin campus will not be hit as hard by cuts as the Michigan location.

The university has ambitious goals for its future. In a synopsis of the 2024-2028 strategic plan, the university aims to build enrollment to 8,500 students and increase donations to the university’s annual fund.

From the Article:

Wong’s Wok, a Chinese chain restaurant with roots in Milwaukee, has shuttered its final location. The closure marks the end of a 45-year run for the family-owned restaurant, which operated as many as 13 locations at its peak.

Since its inception in 1979, Wong’s Wok has operated as a fast food concept with a focus on traditional Cantonese recipes such as egg foo young, sweet-and-sour chicken and lo mein. The takeout-focused restaurant also served several varieties of fried rice, sesame chicken, crab rangoon and more.

The last remaining Wong’s Wok, 3702 S. 27th St., was open as recently as early January, according to online reviews. As of Monday, however, the building has been stripped of its signage. A note posted in the drive-thru window reads: “restaurant closed.”

The restaurant chain, originally founded by Edward Chin, has been passed down through multiple generations. Chin’s daughter, Jennifer Norvik, is the current business owner.

In addition to its brick-and-mortar locations, Wong’s Wok was a regular vendor at Summerfest. The restaurant served fried rice, sesame chicken, crab rangoon and other crowd-favorites throughout the annual festival. Summerfest has not yet announced a full list of vendors for the 2024 event.

The proprietor is now seeking a new tenant for the southside restaurant space. The standalone building shares a parking lot with a strip mall containing a number of businesses including Dollar Tree, an auto parts store and several others. The building is also home to a Chinese Buffet restaurant. A third Chinese restaurant, Panda Express, is located just north of the property.

From the Article:

Go deep into motorcycle culture with Mama Tried, a sprawling show of custom and collectible bikes named for a Merle Haggard song.

The weekend kicks off on Feb. 23 at Fiserv Forum with Flat Out Friday, the “world’s largest indoor flat track race” on a surface coated with Dr Pepper syrup. (It adds traction, like a sticky movie theater floor.)

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the homegrown show, which runs Feb. 24-25 at the Eagles Ballroom.

“People come into town from all over the world to spend the whole week doing motorcycle-related parties and stuff like that,” says co-founder Scott Johnson.

Pretty exciting to hear! The article particularly spotlighted Lapham Blvd, which saw incredible decreases in speeding.

Construction crane is coming down for 333 water. Feels tantalizingly close to completion

From the Article:

The City of Milwaukee celebrated the start of early voting for the spring election with the opening of a new voting center at the intersection of N. 60th St. and W. Capitol Dr.

The new location at 6001 W. Capitol Dr., replaces the early voting site at the Midtown Center Shopping Complex. City officials decided to move the site in 2023 after an Atlanta-based firm bought the building, tripling cost of the city’s lease and reducing the space offered for the voting site, as Urban Milwaukee reported.

Losing the Midtown site without a replacement would have been a blow to voting access for Milwaukee residents, particularly those living in the predominantly Black neighborhoods that surround the site.

And a blow to turnout in Milwaukee. “This is the busiest early voting center in the Midwest,” said Claire Woodall, director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.

The new site is located in two-story building that was originally a bank. It can be accessed by several bus routes, including Route 60, which runs north and south along 60th Street, and the RedLine, which runs east and west along Capitol Drive. The building is also ADA accessible and has parking for approximately 90 vehicles.

“We’re hoping that this site will be more convenient than our previous site,” Woodall said. The city is planning to be in the location at least through 2025.

From the Article:

Last winter, a Milwaukee police officer walked into Axel’s. Shouting over the dive bar’s thumping music, he told underage patrons to leave the bar immediately.

“This is your one chance,” he said, holding up a finger.

A few seconds later, more than three dozen patrons stood up and filed out of the building. The incident, which was captured on video and distributed across multiple social media platforms, was just one of several cases of underage drinking found at the tavern throughout the past several years.

The pattern captured the attention of the Licenses Committee, which on Jan. 23 recommended a 20-day suspension for the East Side tavern, 2859 N. Oakland Ave.

But just minutes before the full Common Council was to vote on the matter Tuesday, area Alderman Jonathan Brostoff recommended the committee change the suspension to a warning letter — the tavern’s fourth in five years — during a special committee meeting.

From the Article:

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is only running roughly half of the battery electric buses (BEBs) it purchased for the new bus rapid transit (BRT) service.

After a recall of the buses in August by the manufacturer, NovaBus, the transit system is still only operating five of them daily, according to David Locher, enhanced transit manager for MCTS. Ideally, there would be nine running every day, he told the Milwaukee Common Council‘s Public Works Committee on Jan. 24.

The transit system ordered 11 BEBs from NovaBus, a Canadian subsidiary of Volvo Group, to operate on the Connect 1, a new nine-mile bus rapid transit service running east and west between Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa. The BRT service is the first of its kind for MCTS. The service cost $55 million to develop and employs dedicated bus lanes, elevated bus stations and transit technologies like off-bus fare collection and BEBs. Currently, however, the majority of buses operating on Connect 1 are clean-diesel buses like those being operated throughout the system.

MCTS also ordered 4 BEBs to operate on other fixed-bus routes as a pilot for a broader electrification of the fleet. Shortly after the Connect 1 launched, the company announced it was exiting the U.S. manufacturing market, with plans to close its manufacturing and delivery facility in Plattsburgh, New York by 2025.

So far, MCTS has received 11 BEBs from NovaBus. Delivery of the remaining four buses is expected this year.

On June 1, MCTS launched Connect 1. Before the month was over, the MCTS needed to replace a battery unit on one of the BEBs. On Aug. 24, all of the transit system’s BEBs were pulled from the road for a full recall and replacement of the batteries by NovaBus. During the recall, nine buses were sent away and all have returned with new batteries.

From the Article:

One of the Third Ward’s oldest buildings that last year was a prospect for potential demolition on Wednesday was donated to the nonprofit Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, which intends to preserve and restore it.

The donation resolves a preservation debate over the historic tavern at 266 E. Erie St., parts of which date to 1884. Milwaukee officials last year rejected General Capital Group and Joseph Property Development’s application to demolish the structure. The developers said its condition made a restoration financially impossible, and that it would essentially require a full reconstruction.

After the city of Milwaukee in September rejected the demolition application, members of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance reached out to see if they could help, said executive director Emma Rudd. Those executive board members, including Peter Zanghi and Claude Krawczyk, worked primarily with Linda Gorens-Levey of General Capital, and reached the agreement for the developers to donate the building to the alliance to be preserved, Rudd said.

“It aligns perfectly with our mission,” she said. “At the end of the day, this is something we were willing to take on that not many would.”

The alliance is prepared to first stabilize the building, stopping further water leakage through its roof, and building scaffolding to brace an exterior brick wall that had been shifting. The long-term restoration will require fundraising and further planning, Rudd said, and will be an extensive effort. The funding for that work would include private donations and potential historic tax credits.

Beyond its deteriorating interior and roof, the building’s foundations will require extensive repair or replacement. An exterior wall will have to be taken apart and rebuild brick-by-brick, Rudd said.

“This is a beautiful, rich historic building that needs love from the ground up,” she said. “We want to use this building not only as an opportunity to promote our mission, but to use it for educational purposes, to see preservation as it happens."

A future use has not been identified for the restored building, Rudd said.

The building is notable because it is among fewer than 10 that survived the 1892 fire that wiped out much of the Third Ward. Its more recent history also includes housing the Wreck Room Saloon, a popular gathering space for the LGBTQ community.

It was most recently a Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design student union before a fire forced its closure in 2013. General Capital and Joseph Property acquired the building in 2014.