The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors Finance Committee unanimously approved a budget amendment on Thursday that includes the county’s $30 million commitment to help renovate the Mitchell Park Domes.
Last month, the nonprofit group
Friends of the Domes — which currently manages half of the Domes’ operations —
unveiled a $133.4 million renovation plan that would address deferred maintenance at the conservatory, build new structures and amenities on the site and implement a new business plan.
Under this plan, the county would transfer ownership and operations of the Mitchell Park Domes to Friends of the Domes, while Mitchell Park itself would continue to be a county park property. FOD proposed this change of ownership, along with consent for the Domes to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, so that the organization can be eligible for the tax credits required to fund the renovation project.
The county would also contribute $30 million over a six-year period to the project. The approved budget amendment does not state when that funding period will begin but requires that the county have a plan ready by May 2025.
The cost of the project’s first phase would be covered by:
- $35 million from private philanthropy
- $30 million from Milwaukee County over six years
- $14.8 million from federal historic tax credits
- $11.8 million from federal and state grants
- $11.6 million from state historic tax credits
- $4.2 million from new market tax credits
Friends of the Domes executive director
Christa Beall Diefenbach told BizTimes she sees the County Board Finance Committee approval as a "tremendous win."
"We've always said that we're not just putting the Domes back the way they were, but we're going to create this amazing visitor experience that will benefit everyone," she said.
The next step is for the full Board of Supervisors to vote on the resolution at its Nov. 7 meeting. It currently has 13 co-sponsors on the board, so Beall Diefenbach said FOD feels "very good about the vote." There are 18 members of the County Board of Supervisors.
“This has been a long time coming,” Beall Diefenbach said at the Thursday finance committee meeting. “I think it’s a sentiment of all of the folks coming together, getting on the same page and pushing this forward.”
[caption id="attachment_426617" align="aligncenter" width="769"]
The Mitchell Park Domes[/caption]
