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In this edition of Real Results, we sit down with Mame McCully of the Milwaukee County Historical Society to hear to about their new endeavors including the new Brew City MKE museum of beer and brewing. Grab your friends for a tour and happy hour at the Milwaukee Beer Bar that is part of the project.
Also, with several new development announcements and ground breakings, we give you an overview of over $235 million of reinvestment that is taking place in the North Broadway Street corridor that is quickly redefining this area into a new downtown neighborhood.
Now that we are in the season of giving, we highlight a perfect opportunity for you to support the Friends of Cathedral Square in their fundraising effort to beautify this important downtown public space.
Finally, join us tomorrow to celebrate our storefront activation project called
Wish List MKE
. Through this initiative we activated four vacant storefronts with five local online based retailers for the holiday season. Come out and celebrate the holiday season with us!
As always, thanks for reading!
Matt Dorner
Economic Development Director
Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21
Follow us on Twitter @RealResultsMKE
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The Broadway Street corridor in downtown Milwaukee is classified in the
2010 Downtown Master Plan
as one of several Catalytic Project areas. According to the Plan, "implementation of these "catalytic" projects ... represent a significant public and/ or private financial investment in the area. These projects ... inspire a confidence and commitment that leads to additional investment and improvement in the surrounding area..."
This is actively being witnessed in the North Broadway Street corridor. A revitalization that was jumpstarted by the $18 million Hilton Garden Inn adaptive reuse project, has been followed by a series of other new investments that we highlight below.
J. Jeffers & Co., is responsible for a number of the new projects in the corridor. In addition to upgrading the adjacent Mitchell Building, they finished a $12 million restoration of the Mackie Building that retains the commercial tenants while converting the top floors to 25 new apartments. Jeffers also announced a $30 million development featuring 108 apartments, 9,000 SF of retail space, and 144 parking spaces directly to the south of the Mackie Building. This will be one of the first new construction project along the streetcar line and will greatly enhance the connectivity between the Third Ward and downtown.
Just a few blocks north, Jeffers also announced a partnership with fellow developer, Tony Janowiec on a $30 million rehabilitation of the Milwaukee Athletic Club that will include significant improvements including a new branded hotel to be part of the 100 year old structure.
Across from the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Irgens recently celebrated the ground breaking on a $137 million, 25-story high rise tower that will serve as the new headquarters for BMO Harris Bank and Michael Best & Friedrich's downtown office. The project redevelops a parking facility and adds significant density and ground floor retail space along the streetcar line.
The corridor is experiencing investment types from new construction to the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. For example, Millbrook Properties purchased the 20-story building on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and proceeded with more than $8 million of upgrades to reposition it as a viable option for office tenants. Across from TWO-Fifty, Aloria Health redeveloped more than half of the Wisconsin Building. In addition, at the Broadway and Kilbourn intersection, both MGIC and the Plaza East office complex ownership have invested millions of dollars into the modernization of their facilities.
So far, more than $235 million in completed, under construction, and proposed projects have publicly disclosed their investment amounts in this catalytic project area along the Milwaukee Streetcar route truly making it one of downtown's new emerging neighborhoods to keep watching.
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Our friends at
Cathedral Square Friends, Inc.
recently announced the launch of the "Color the Square" initiative. The nonprofit plans to have 48 baskets filled with bright, multi-colored flowers hanging from light poles inside and around the perimeter of Cathedral Square Park in downtown Milwaukee. The group is seeking sponsors to help fund the purchase of the baskets, their installation and multiple years of maintenance.
Cathedral Square Friends is an all-volunteer group that is dedicated to improving Cathedral Square for the benefit of all Milwaukeeans. Color The Square is the first of many initiatives the organization has planned to give new life to this historic public gathering place in the heart of Milwaukee.
"Cathedral Square is older than the city itself, dating back to 1837 when Milwaukee's founders donated the land to the public. The square has played an important role throughout Milwaukee's history and we believe it remains a vital public space for the residents of Milwaukee today. Color the Square is the first step towards bringing it the new life and vibrancy it deserves," said Dave Reid, President of Cathedral Square Friends.
Cathedral Square in Downtown Milwaukee will be more colorful next summer if the initiative of Cathedral Square Friends succeeds. To learn more about Color the Square and to join us in donating online, please visit the
Color the Square campaign page.
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Broadway Street's Investment Surge
The Broadway Street corridor along Phase 1 of the Milwaukee Streetcar has seen a recent surge in new investment and that momentum continues to mount! Since the jumpstart of the reinvestment with the Hilton Garden Inn, there have been new apartments, hotels, office construction and rehabilitation, public transit and streetscape projects that have been complete or recently announced, including:
- $235.9+ million in disclosed investment amount
- 133 new apartments
- 227 new hotel rooms
- 360,000 SF of new office development
- 450,000+ SF of reinvested existing office space
- 0.4 miles of the Milwaukee Streetcar route construction with new landscaped medians
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Photo Source: Lee Matz
Provide a brief overview of Milwaukee County Historical Society?
The Milwaukee County Historical Society was founded in 1935 to collect and make available Milwaukee's history. We have more than 60,000 artifacts and more than a million documents and images. It's a truly incredible collection. Today we consider ourselves the place to learn about and celebrate Milwaukee and we do so through programs and events, educational field trips, and our historic sites.
What upcoming exhibit at the MCHS are you most excited about and why?
In 2018, our feature exhibit will be Back Yards to Big Leagues: Milwaukee's Sports and Recreation History. We like to offer exhibits that have relevancy to present day and there couldn't be a better time to share sports history. In the same year it is on display, a new arena will be opening, the Bucks will celebrate their 50th anniversary and we will see the end of the Bradley Center's story. We expect that 2018 will bring much reflection on the topic, as new history unfolds, and I'm thrilled we can be a place for people to discover this history.
With the recent unveiling of Brew City MKE, describe the motivation with creating this new venue?
We present our major exhibits each year and people very much enjoy them. It's always sad when the exhibit is taken down, but at the same time we have such a large collection that we like to continually have new things on display. However, in the case of our beer and brewing exhibit it was very popular while on display, and people kept wanting to see it afterwards. So, the motivation was serving the public in a way we knew would be of great interest. Our goal is to share Milwaukee's history and when we have demand, we should deliver.
What can guests expect to find when they visit Brew City MKE?
The story of Brew City. Truly. The exhibit uses artifacts, images, interactive tools and more to share Milwaukee's beer and brewing heritage. Visitors develop a good understanding of the early years of brewing in Milwaukee. Then in the Milwaukee Beer Bar, people can experience the present. The Beer Bar has new and innovative Milwaukee beers, but also heritage labels such as Miller, Blatz, Pabst, Schlitz and Hamm's. There is also a programming space and we have many events where one can participate in different aspects of Milwaukee's beer and brewing heritage - from an author series, to a "behind the brew" series, and even trivia nights. Find more information at www.brewcitymilwaukee.com.
What other downtown Milwaukee development are you most excited about?
I am extremely excited to see the development of the Shops at Grand Avenue - and the fact that Brew City MKE is there gives us a front row seat.
When you are not working, what are some of your favorite hobbies?
I like to spend time with my family exploring Milwaukee and experiencing the many different things the city has to offer - from museums, to professional sports, to the lakefront and festivals. It has been fun to return to places and events that I went to as a child growing up in Milwaukee with my own children.
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Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21 and CARW are hosting a networking event in one of downtown's premier retail lease opportunity. Located in the historic Iron Block Building, at 205 East Wisconsin Avenue, the retail space is one of four vacant storefronts that are featured as part of Milwaukee Downtown's
Wish List MKE campaign.
Through this initiative, Milwaukee Downtown transformed empty storefront windows into high quality displays for five local online stores: Fyxation Bicycle Company, Linda Marcus Design, The Mini Classy, Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival Ornament Collection and Wander & Co. The reactivated storefronts are located area near brick and mortar retail shops to help enhance the pedestrian environment and holiday shopping experience.
"Our intention is to provide Milwaukee's growing scene of online-based retailers with a temporary platform that could later develop into a permanent brick-and-mortar business in our downtown," says Beth Weirick, CEO of Milwaukee Downtown in a recent
Milwaukee Magazine article. In addition, through this effort Milwaukee Downtown is helping to promote of some of the best retail lease opportunities in downtown.
The December 7th event will highlight the Wishlist MKE initiative as well as showcase some of the tools that Milwaukee Downtown has to help fill empty storefronts. Please come and enjoy appetizers, live music, and view window displays created by our partner, Retailworks, Inc. Click
here to register for the event.
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