Milwaukee

From the Article:

Last May, we reported that plans for the East Side food park in the former Zak's / Humboldt Gardens building at 2249 N. Humboldt Ave. (a.k.a. 1025 E. North Ave.) were officially approved by the Historical Preservation Committee. The approval marked the clearance of a significant hurdle for the project, which aims to restore an endangered historic building.

This morning saw yet another positive step forward for the highly anticipated development, which met with approval from the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee. The committee's approval paves the way for the project to be officially presented to the Common Council for ratification.

From the Article:

The removal of Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee would increase daily traffic counts on Clybourn Street significantly, and state planners are exploring options to avoid logjams when its bridge over the river opens for boats.

Clybourn Street is currently a one-way street running in the shadow of Interstate 794’s elevated bridges. In early summer 2022, the Department of Transportation counted about 6,200 daily cars crossing its bridge over the Milwaukee River. Clybourn Street's total traffic counts are currently low, but could increase to about 26,000 cars daily under the most likely option to remove I-794 entirely, according to information the DOT released in August.

If I-794 is removed or redesigned, Clybourn Street would be rebuilt as a wider two-way boulevard to handle more traffic.

Those raising concerns about removing I-794 have argued Clybourn Street will experience car congestion when its bridge opens for boats on the river. The Clybourn Street bridge opens about 2,000 times a year for boats.

Wisconsin DOT planners discussed their efforts around the Clybourn Street bridge last week while updating a Milwaukee County Board committee on I-794. Mike Ernst, project manager on I-794 consulting firm HNTB Corp., said the project team assumes a new lift bridge would be built for Clybourn Street. Efforts are underway to minimize the number of times it would open for river traffic, he said.

“We are currently working on ideas for what we can do for that structure,” Ernst said.

That may mean rebuilding the bridge taller so it not need to open as frequently, said David Pittman, Wisconsin DOT project manager on the I-794 project.

The Milwaukee River is a federally regulated waterway, so it would require an act of Congress to remove the requirement for taller boats to pass, Pittman said.

The DOT had explored building a bridge tall enough to let all boats pass without needing to open and stop cars. However, a bridge that is tall enough, with inclines that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, may be so long that its structure blocks either Water Street east of the river, or Plankinton Avenue to the west, according to those preliminary studies from earlier this year.

Clybourn Street would see daily traffic increase to 26,000 cars under the DOT’s option of removing I-794 between Sixth Street and the northern terminus of the Hoan Bridge. According to last week’s presentation, that is the “most feasible” of the two options the DOT presented last summer to remove I-794 completely.

Several other options remain in play, and a final plan is to be selected later this year. Nine design concepts were shown last summer. State planners will narrow those down to four over the “next few months” for further public review, Ernst said.

The current range of options include rebuilding aging I-794 bridges with no design changes. That would maintain the current eight different access points to downtown.

Other options would redesign I-794, tearing it down and rebuilding it with a new, smaller system of elevated bridges. Those concepts would preserve about four access points to downtown, and open land downtown for public use or private redevelopment. It would not open as much land as removing the interstate bridges entirely.

The redesign concepts would also rebuild Clybourn Street as a wider, two-way boulevard to handle more traffic that now uses I-794. Cass Street would be extended south into the Third Ward to create a new local street connection.

From the Article:

Warehouse Art Museum, which bills itself as Milwaukee’s only private museum dedicated exclusively to the exhibition of modern and contemporary art, is planning to move into a new facility in 2025 in order to expand its exhibition space and hours of operation, providing greater public access to its collection.

Details about the new facility and opening plan will be unveiled later.

The museum temporarily closed its doors to the public in December after the conclusion of its fall exhibition, PAUSE/CONNECT. The museum will remain closed through 2024 as staff prepares to open the new facility.

During this temporary closure, Warehouse Art Museum plans to remain active, with plans for several events around Milwaukee in the coming months.

The move has been in the works for more than a year, Warehouse Art Museum Co-founder and Managing Director John Shannon said.

“We’ve now made a firm decision to do so,” Shannon said.

Warehouse Art Museum opened to the public in 2018 in a five-story concrete and brick warehouse at 1635 W. St. Paul Ave., in the Menomonee Valley. The museum’s international collection of more than 7,000 works includes significant concentrations of self-portraits, monotypes and contemporary studio craft. Since its launch, the museum has opened 14 unique exhibitions comprised of work from the permanent collection including Rediscovering Ruth Grotenrath and William Kentridge: See for Yourself.

The museum’s international collection reflects the personal vision its co-founders, Shannon and Jan Serr.

In its new location, WAM is planning to double its gallery space, providing visitors with both permanent and rotating exhibitions. In addition to the new space, WAM also plans to provide new research services for students and scholars to better explore the collection.

Programming at the museum has included four or five gallery exhibitions per year, often featuring guest curators, with concurrent artist talks, guest speakers and guided exhibition tours.

Warehouse Art Museum’s Plumb Press also maintains an active publication and video presence.

From the Article:

After a Thursday court ruling, the city can take ownership of the former Northridge Mall site, the Milwaukee Mayor’s Office confirmed.

This includes properties formerly owned by Black Spruce.

Northridge Mall has sat vacant for more than two decades, after closing in 2003. The former mall was located on the Far Northwest Side.

Several past attempts to redevelop the mall have not worked out. In recent years, it has been prone to fires and vandalism.

The mayor’s office said the city is planning next steps for the property when it comes to razing and restoring the site.

Officials said the first step would be to eliminate any danger the site poses. Demolition will start in the spring. The future of the site is still up in the air.

From the Article:

At the Urban Ecology Center‘s Riverside Park campus, the development of a new event venue is only the nucleus of a project that will also improve trail and parkland access on the grounds surrounding it.

The Urban Ecology Center (UEC) plans to redevelop a large Cream City brick warehouse at its Riverside Park headquarters, 1500 E. Park Pl., into a 300-person event space, as Urban Milwaukee previously reported. But the project will also involve constructing a new connection to the Oak Leaf Trail and accessible green space, including a new water feature.

The outdoor, recreational elements of the project are focused on a portion of the campus UEC staff call the East Gateway. It is a patch of undeveloped land between the Oak Leaf Trail and the future event space. All that stands there now is the husk of a former building.

“It’s a derelict three walls, right,” said Marcos Guevara, Director of Strategy & Operations for Community Engagement. “It isn’t even a full building.”

What’s left of the structure will be taken down, and 70 feet of trail will be constructed, connecting E. Park Place and the offshoot of Milwaukee County Parks‘ Oak Leaf Trail that lattices the forested area of Riverside Park.

“So because our mission is to connect people to nature and each other, opening up more ways for people to access a park is really exciting,” Guevera said.

From the Article:

Nearly 20 years ago, the Grohmann Museum at MSOE opened it doors to share art in all mediums that celebrated, explored or captured humans at work – from harvesting wheat to brewing beer to building railroads to forging steel and beyond.

Now, after dozens of exhibitions and an ever-growing collection of art inspired by industry, the Grohmann Museum hosts what just may be the perfect intersection of art and industry.

“Patterns of Meaning: The Art of Industry by Cory Bonnet,” which opens on Friday, Jan. 19 at the museum, 1000 N. Broadway, focuses on work by Pittsburgh artist Cory Bonnet, who not only draws inspiration from the steel industry, but uses remnants of that industry as his canvas.

Bonnet paints on material salvaged from moribund steel mills in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio – forms and patterns and rollers and all sorts of vintage, often-hulking objects. Bonnet's New Vision Studio collaborators use the objects to create glass artwork, ceramics, furniture and other artwork, too.

“I was a traditional oil painter,” says Bonnet, who studied animation in college while working in machine shops and waiting tables. After graduation, he worked in a specialty building supply company that specialized in wood and wood coatings. When his employer asked if he’d like to learn more about LEED sustainability, he jumped at the opportunity.

From the Article:

A judge who has been presiding over the Northridge Mall demolition order lawsuit since early 2022 again asked for more urgency from the city and the property's owner toward tearing down the vacant building.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge William Sosnay during a Wednesday hearing asked for the process to move “quickly, efficiently and effectively.” That was after city attorneys presented their strategy to take the property through tax foreclosure by the end of this month, and begin the process of demolishing it by this summer. Milwaukee officials announced that effort this month after receiving a $15 million grant from the state to pay for the mall’s demolition.

“It seems more things have transpired over the last three months than have occurred over the last 15 years,” Sosnay said.

Under an estimated timeline shown to aldermen this month, the mall’s demolition would be complete in fall 2025.

“You’re not on the same schedule I am,” Sosnay said Wednesday.

Sosnay in October 2022 upheld the city’s demolition order against Northridge, and since then has been pushing both the city and its private owner to prepare demolition plans for the building. The mall has been vacant for 20 years and has belonged to Chinese investor U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group Inc. since 2008.

An appeal by U.S. Black Spruce has stymied the effort to enforce the demolition order.

That could change as early as Jan. 25 when a different Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge could act upon the city’s request to take ownership of Northridge Mall through a tax foreclosure. The city filings tally $649,426 in unpaid property taxes from 2018 through 2021 on the U.S. Black Spruce properties.

U.S. Black Spruce attorney Christopher Kloth on Wednesday said he had “nothing to inform the court” regarding the company’s future plans. He is not involved in the appeal of the demolition order, or the foreclosure case.

The demolition would take more than a year to complete because of the utilities on the site, and the need to abate hazardous materials from the building structure, according to a Jan. 10 letter from assistant city attorney Theresa Montag to Sosnay. The city will create a website updating the public on those efforts, according to the letter.

By the end of the project, the city would have a cleared, graded site serving as a blank slate for a new use. The city of Milwaukee owns the vacant Boston Store building connected to Northridge Mall, and plans to start its demolition by early February.

According to Montag’s letter, U.S. Black Spruce has not put security measures in place at Northridge, and there is evidence of break-ins and guns being fired in the building. A report by city building inspectors for the week leading up to Dec. 24 said half of the property is not fenced, and that a contractor hired by the city is securing open entrances into the mall itself.

U.S. Black Spruce is tallying a $2,000 daily fine for not security the property under a 2022 order by Sosnay.

The city is prepared to secure the building “immediately” if it is given ownership to the property this month, according to Milwaukee assistant city attorney Michael Radavich.

From the Article:

Sinabro, which will bring a menu of Korean appetizers, sides and noodle dishes, is slated to open inside the Landmark Building at 316 N. Milwaukee St. The space, which was most recently home to Fool’s Errand and Fauntleroy, has been empty since July of 2022.

Behind the concept is Han Kim, an aspiring restaurateur who grew up working in his parents’ restaurants in Rhode Island. For a few years, he stepped away from the family business to attend business school and pursue a career in technology. But two years ago, he says, he decided to join his family here in Milwaukee.

His parents, Hae Jeong Kim and Jongsoo Kim, founded Kanpai Izakaya in 2016, and his family owns Char’d, the modern Korean restaurant in the Third Ward and Maru Korean Bistro on Prospect Avenue. His father is a co-owner and investor in Sinabro.

Kim, who is currently operating Char’d alongside his sister, Minjee Kim, says the concept for Sinabro was inspired by the gaps in the food scene that he noted when moved from the East Coast to Milwaukee.

“One of the first things that I noticed is that there really aren’t any great Korean noodle options here,” Kim notes. “Milwaukee is this great city, and I feel like Downtown is growing and heading in a great direction. But there’s also so much opportunity.”

From the Article:

The Milwaukee Metro area will soon have its very first location of Forage Kitchen, a Madison-based concept that aims to offer fresh, satisfying scratch-made fare in a quick, convenient format.

Last May, we tipped you off that the locally-owned grain bowl and salad restaurant would be coming to the former Great Clips at 103 E. Silver Spring Dr. in Whitefish Bay. Just seven months later, we have word that the new fast-casual eatery will be opening on Monday, Jan. 15.

Guests who are familiar with the Whitefish Bay location will find the former hair salon utterly transformed. The eatery is bright, airy and welcoming with clean modern lines and a bit of artistic flare thanks to a bespoke mural created by Milwaukee artist Bigshot Robot. Outside, guests can look forward to the addition of a sidewalk patio for al fresco dining in the spring of 2024.

The new location is part of an overall plan for growth of the Forage Kitchen brand, which has signed a lease for their second Milwaukee-area location in Pewaukee, which is expected to open in the spring of 2024.

"As we continue our growth in Madison, we felt the time was right to bring the flavors of Forage Kitchen to folks in and around Milwaukee looking for a fresh, healthy, and satisfying meal," says Henry Aschauer, founder and owner of Forage Kitchen and the eatery’s sister brand, Forage Kombucha.

From the Article:

Following nearly 30 years in business, Gary’s Pet Jungle (2857 S. Howell Ave., 414-744-3338) will soon be closing its doors once and for all. Opened by owner, operator, and namesake Gary Johnson, the pet and pet supply retailer has served animal lovers in the Bay View neighborhood and beyond since July of 1994. Sadly, the store’s days are numbered, as Johnson plans to end the business in the next few months.

We spoke with Johnson—who does not own the property where his business has existed for nearly three decades—at Gary’s Pet Jungle on Sunday afternoon. Though he declined our request to be interviewed, he confirmed that he intends to shutter the store in the near future. A closing date has not yet been determined, but Johnson tells us the end of his Pet Jungle could be as soon as the next month or two.

From the Article:

Keep those shovels and snowblowers handy.

Southeastern Wisconsin has been dusted with two rounds of snow this week; the first as part of the winter storm that rolled through Wisconsin on Tuesday. The second arrived overnight Thursday, and we're not done just yet. Another system is expected to arrive in the area on Friday and bring with it both snow and below zero temperatures.

From the Article:

As part of multiple cost-cutting measures and real estate divestitures, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee intends to sell its chancellor’s residence at 3435 N. Lake Drive in Milwaukee.

The university said Thursday it will seek permission from the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents to sell the home. If approved, it will publicly list the property for sale in the coming months.

UWM chancellor Mark Mone in December 2023 moved into another nearby home, according to the announcement. Public records show Mone purchased a home one block closer to the campus in mid-November. He paid $1.13 million.

“Selling the chancellor’s residence is the smart financial move for our university,” Mone said in a statement.

The UWM Real Estate Foundation purchased the chancellor's residence for $955,000 in 2012. The current value is estimated to be $1,402,600, according to Zillow.

Built in 1926, the 4,818-square-foot home has six bedrooms and four bathrooms. It's in the Downer Woods neighborhood just east of the UWM campus.

Other properties that UWM has divested in recent years have included the former UWM Alumni House, which it sold for $1.8 million to Milwaukee businessman Andy Nunemaker in 2021.

Last year, UWM demolished its Northwest Quad Building A and permanently closed its Purin residence hall. It plans to demolish its old chemistry building, which previously was slated to be renovated for other purposes, according to UWM.

From the Article:

The penthouse at the top of the Couture tower – Wisconsin’s tallest residential building – is being marketed for lease for $11,650 a month.

That’s the highest-priced unit listed for the 44-story building at the downtown Milwaukee lakefront. Those penthouses are to open to tenants in August, but apartments in the Couture’s fourth through 30th floors will be ready for move-ins in April, according to a Thursday announcement by Barrett Lo Visionary Development. That move-in date follows a more than decade-long effort by Milwaukee-based Barrett Lo to get the about $190 million project approved and financed.

The top levels of the Couture have two penthouses, each with about 2,350 square feet. The two-level units have three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and outdoor terraces with about 350 square feet. The north-facing penthouse is priced at $11,585 a month, and the slightly larger south-facing one is $65 more.

The pricing goes down to $2,045 a month for the smallest apartment, a one-bedroom with 576 square feet facing west on the building’s fifth floor. In between are a number of two-bedroom units priced starting around $3,865 a month.

“The Couture will mark Milwaukee as a premier destination for discerning individuals who value living a world-class lifestyle in our energetic and beautiful city,” said Rick Barrett, founder of Barrett Lo. “We’re thrilled to welcome our soon-to-be residents to their new home.”

The Couture’s amenities include its outdoor terrace with a swimming pool with views of Lake Michigan, 24-hour concierge service, a dog park and an indoor clubhouse and lounge. The lower levels of the building also have large public spaces, including a park that will open this summer and a transit center to be served by The Hop streetcar system beginning in April.

There is about 45,000 square feet of retail space on the Couture’s three lower levels. No tenants have been announced.

From the Article:

The end is nigh for Northridge Mall, according to city officials. Milwaukee could take possession of the long-vacant mall by the end of the month through foreclosure. Demolition could begin in the summer.

That’s according to a multi-department presentation made Tuesday to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.

The mall’s Chinese ownership group, U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group, missed a Dec. 20 redemption deadline in a property tax foreclosure case. The final action on the case is expected to occur on Jan. 25.

“That’s kind of like checkmate,” said committee chair Alderman Michael Murphy.

The foreclosure could end a 2019 court case through which Black Spruce is contesting a raze order. The case has been pending before Judge William Sosnay while the parties await an appeals court ruling on the validity of the raze order.

The city intends to begin demolition in the next two months on the one portion of the mall structure it owns, the former Boston Store. Demolition of the remainder of the mall structure would begin in the summer.

After clearing the site by the fall of 2025, the city would have a 58-acre site ready for redevelopment.

Formally announced in December, a $15 million grant from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation would pay for demolishing the approximately 900,000-square-foot mall property, removing any environmental contaminants and preparing the site.

But Ald. Robert Bauman, an attorney, said the city might want to proceed with caution because Black Spruce would have 90 days to appeal the foreclosure and could get a cleared property back. The company could also win its appeal. But deputy city attorney Odalo J. Ohiku said the proper court guidance was followed in issuing the raze order following an earlier successful appeal. Assistant city attorney Hannah Jahn said the property has a negative value, given the cost to demolish the blighted structure, so Black Spruce’s damages would be limited. Bauman voted with his colleagues to move the proposal forward.

The mall, located near N. 76th Street and W. Brown Deer Road, closed in 2003 after 31 years of operation. A predecessor of Black Spruce acquired the property for $6 million in 2008. It proposed creating an Asian marketplace, but those plans have never advanced.

More than a half million dollars in unpaid contempt fines have been levied against Black Spruce for its failure to comply with a 2019 agreement to secure the property. At least four fires took place at the mall in 2022 and it has been a target for trespassing. Another fire took place in November.

A report Tuesday estimated that the city has spent more than $1 million and thousands of hours on securing the property. The Department of Neighborhood Services is said to have performed a daily inspection for more than 500 consecutive days.

From the Article:

The Milwaukee Police Department is asking for help to find critically missing 13-year-old Azoria Jones.

Police say Jones was last seen on Saturday, Jan. 6, near 35th Street and Kaul Avenue in Milwaukee wearing a pink coat, tank top and black pants. She is described as 5 feet 2 inches and 190 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Milwaukee Police Department District Four at (414) 935-7242.

From the Article:

With colder weather on the way, Milwaukee County leaders have announced locations where people can stay warm this winter.

In addition to already existing services, several warming centers will be opening in the coming weeks.

A warming center is a short-term emergency shelter where people can go to stay warm when temperatures become dangerously low.

From the Article:

A 17-block stretch along Walnut Street in Milwaukee has gotten a "first of its kind" makeover. The new design goes from Vel R. Phillips Avenue to North 20th Street on Walnut Street and is unlike any other street in the city right now.

"This was one where we were going to reconstruct the road, and this gave us the opportunity to kind of have a blank canvas," David Tapia, the city's Department of Public Works major project manager, said. "We were able to eliminate one of the travel lanes in each direction."

DPW said losing that one lane in each direction allowed crews to install protected bike lanes. One stretch has bicyclists off the road entirely and puts them on the same level as the sidewalk.

"We've got bump-outs, we've got raised crosswalks. We really started to implement a lot of the things that we wanted to do in totality on this project," Tapia said.

"What do you think of it?" WISN 12 News Hannah Hilyard asked a young man walking along Walnut Street Thursday.

"I think it's nice. I think it's more safe for the people who are riding bikes so people don't get hit by cars," Zechariah Malone responded.

At the intersection of North 6th and Walnut streets, crews installed more than a dozen concrete islands. Tapia said it's meant to slow drivers down as they make turns at the intersection and add "more locations that are protected for the pedestrian or bicyclist."

"If it betters the driving, and it looks better, I'm for it," Milwaukee resident Christopher Jones said.

Reducing the number of lanes and installing more bump-outs like this one has some residents concerned for snowplow drivers and how they'll maneuver along Walnut Street.

"We work with a fantastic group in our operations department and worked with them through the design process to make sure the width, even how we come in and out of these bump-outs, the fact we will now have these raised crosswalks," Tapia said. "Everything we do, we involve them through the process."

DPW said the project's point is to slow traffic down, making the roadway safer for all who use it.

"Take your time, understand where you're going," Tapia said. "Look for the pedestrians and bicyclists and make your maneuver safely."

Later this year, the city said it's looking to finish the project through North 2nd Street. There are also plans to install raised bike lanes on a portion of Wells Street downtown.

From the Article:

The Forest County Potawatomi Community is going all in on the entertainment business.

Sources tell the Journal Sentinel that the Potawatomi is planning to construct a $200 million concert venue that will seat up to 6,000 people on property just to the west of the tribe's Hotel & Casino.

The plan calls for the tribe to get approval from city officials and the Common Council this year and break ground in the first quarter of 2025.

"It would be shovel in the ground in March or at least the beginning of 2025," said a source familiar with the project.

Officials with the tribe declined to comment when asked about the concert hall.

But this unexpected proposal could throw a wrench into city-approved plans to build a $60 million music theater in the Deer District that would seat 4,500.

Why?

It appears that the Potawatomi would fund the venue on its own without relying on traditional financing, removing one major hurdle for the construction project.

In addition, one prominent Milwaukee music insider said the two venues would end up competing for the same performers, creating a showdown between the Deer District theater, which is backed by music-industry behemoth Live Nation Entertainment, and the casino-funded music hall.

"It would be Godzilla versus King Kong," the insider said.

The Journal Sentinel recently reported that the Potawatomi casino at 1721 Canal St. won at least $415 million from gamblers during the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to Journal Sentinel calculation based on fees paid by the tribe to the city and county of Milwaukee.

In the previous 12 months, the tribe posted a net win of about $395 million in winnings, the records show. The net win is the amount of money that gamblers lose at slot machines and table games.

Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said the city's top official had not received any briefings or specifics on the proposed new venue. But Fleming said Johnson "has been consistent in not using zoning or other regulatory approvals to address competitive business concerns."