The downtown Milwaukee lakefront area is on the verge of a historic transformation that could dramatically change the look and feel of the city’s front door.
Several major projects are in the works. Some of them could be considered iconic on their own. Collectively, these projects could elevate the downtown Milwaukee lakefront to world class status.
However, some of the potential lakefront developments face significant challenges. If the challenges are not overcome, the full potential of the lakefront transformation might not be realized. Nevertheless, Department of City Development Commissioner Richard “Rocky” Marcoux says they will be overcome.
“I’m confident we’re going to get this done,” he said.
Two major development projects near the lakefront are already under construction and will make a big impact on the area. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. is building its $450 million, 32-story, 1.1 million-square-foot Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons on its campus near the lakefront. Irgens is building the $101.5 million, 17-story, 358,017-square-foot 833 East office building at 833 E. Michigan St., near the lakefront. 833 East is expected to be complete in 2016, and the Northwestern Mutual Tower & Commons is expected to be complete in 2017.
Other lakefront projects under construction include the expansion and renovation of the Milwaukee Art Museum and Milwaukee County War Memorial complex and the reconstruction of the Hoan Bridge, which will feature decorative lighting when complete.
But the fate of other major projects planned for the lakefront area is less certain.
Barrett Visionary Development still hopes to build The Couture, a $122 million, 44-story luxury apartment tower with retail and public spaces. It would be built just east of the 833 East project at the current site of the Milwaukee County Downtown Transit Center, which is used for bus storage and bus transfers.
However, the county has been unable to sell the property to Barrett because parks advocacy group Preserve Our Parks has threatened to file a lawsuit to block the deal. Title insurance companies have refused to issue title insurance on the property because of the legal uncertainty.
Preserve Our Parks has threatened to sue because it says that about two-thirds of the Milwaukee County Downtown Transit Center property was originally part of Lake Michigan and therefore private development is forbidden on the site by the state’s public trust doctrine.
The county and the city recently filed a lawsuit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court seeking a declaratory judgement in an attempt to finally end a the debate about the development rights of the Downtown Transit Center site. The city and county want the court to rule in favor of legislation signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker in 2013 that establishes the 1913 shoreline as the official public trust doctrine boundary for the lakefront in Milwaukee.
“We need the court decision,” Marcoux said. “We’re confident about our legal position, that the court will find that the 1913 line makes sense.”
Marcoux says more is at stake in the public trust legal battle than just The Couture project. The legal battle could also impact the development potential of the site to the south. In 2013, state, city and county officials struck a deal on a $16 million plan to reconfigure the Lake Interchange, which will open up a 2.75-acre development site southwest of East Clybourn Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive. Work to reconfigure the interchange will begin after completion of the Hoan Bridge reconstruction project.
City officials hope to attract a major corporate headquarters to the development site that will be created by the Lake Interchange reconfiguration.
“It is an incredible site,” Marcoux said.
Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc. is considering plans to build a new corporate headquarters, which could be a 50-story building, on the site, according to public statements by Alderman Robert Bauman and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. A spokesman for Johnson Controls has said the company is considering expansion plans in the Milwaukee area, but has declined to provide any further details. Marcoux also declined to comment on the possible Johnson Controls project.
If the county and city lose their legal battle against Preserve Our Parks, a portion of the possible Johnson Controls headquarters site would also be banned from development. Charlie Kamps, a Preserve Our Parks board member, said this would only affect a small portion of that site.
“They would need to put a small amount of green grass in front of the building,” he said.
But because of the infrastructure that surrounds the site, any loss of land will threaten its development potential and could kill a major high-rise project there, Marcoux said.
“You need the whole site,” he said.
The controversial downtown Milwaukee streetcar project could also impact The Couture and the Johnson Controls projects, both of which would be on the route. City officials have approved the $124 million streetcar project, but opponents are still trying to mount a petition drive and legal challenge to stop it.
The current design for The Couture includes a transportation hub and the project would not work with that design if the streetcar is not built, said Rick Barrett, owner of Barrett Visionary Development. In addition, Johnson Controls representatives said they support the streetcar project and that it will be a factor in their site selection process for a new office building.
Marcoux expressed confidence that the streetcar will be built. He also said the tax incremental financing plan for the project does not depend on development of The Couture.
“We have every confidence the streetcar will be built,” he said. “The only question I have on the streetcar is, which extension comes first?”
Also uncertain is the Lakefront Gateway Plaza project, planned for a 1.5-acre park space north of the Summerfest grounds. City and county officials recently selected four design teams, from a group of 24 applicants, as finalists for a design competition for the plaza. The design teams are an impressive group of national and local firms, and are led by: New York-based landscape design firm James Corner Field Operations; Solana Beach, Calif.-based Office of James Burnett; Los Angeles-based AECOM; and Milwaukee-based Graef USA. Based on the track record of these firms and of the other members of their teams, the designs they submit for the Lakefront Gateway Plaza project should be impressive.
However, the funding source for the project is still uncertain.
“We don’t have a firm budget,” Marcoux said. “I suspect there will be a public-private funding mechanism to put something spectacular in place.”
The most important thing is to get a plan and vision in place and then go to work on it, Marcoux said.
“It doesn’t have to be done all at once,” he said.
The historic transformation of the lakefront will certainly be a step-by-step process. Other future developments on or near the lakefront could include: a 200-room Westin Hotel south of the U.S. Bank Center; expansion of the 875 East Wisconsin office building; improvements to the north end of the Summerfest grounds; and restoration of the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse.
The Westin Hotel is scheduled to open in June of 2016, according to the Starwood Hotels & Resorts website.
“The (Westin Hotel) project is still on track,” said Evan Zeppos, a spokesman for Jackson Street Management LLC, the developer for the project. “All of the parties are moving forward. We are making progress.”
