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Milwaukee County Board approves funding for Mitchell Park Domes renovation project

By

Samantha Dietel

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Nov 7, 2024 11:22 am

A rendering of the proposed Nature Learning Center at the Mitchell Park Domes. Photo Credit: Friends of the Domes.

DomesNatureLearningCenterrendering.09032024 — A rendering of the proposed Nature Learning Center at the Mitchell Park Domes. Photo Credit: Friends of the Domes.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors on Thursday unanimously approved its 2025 budget that includes the county’s future $30 million commitment to help renovate the Mitchell Park Domes. This marks another step forward for the nonprofit group Friends of the Domes‘ $133.4 million renovation plan that would address deferred maintenance at the conservatory, build new

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The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors on Thursday unanimously approved its 2025 budget that includes the county’s future $30 million commitment to help renovate the Mitchell Park Domes. This marks another step forward for the nonprofit group Friends of the Domes' $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. The nonprofit, which currently manages half of the Domes' operations, first unveiled the plan before the County Board in September. The county would contribute $30 million over a six-year period to the project. The approved budget does not state when that funding period will begin but requires the county to have a plan ready by May 2025. The board's approved budget would transfer operations of the Mitchell Park Domes to FOD. The nonprofit 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 help fund the renovation project. The board's approved budget also includes this support for the Domes' placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Mitchell Park itself will continue to be a county park property. “The Domes have been facing an existential crisis for years,” Friends of the Domes executive director Christa Beall Diefenbach said in a Thursday news release. “Today’s vote changes that. We now have a path forward that ensures The Domes remain a horticultural oasis for generations to come.” The county budget still needs final approval from County Executive David Crowley, who is "reviewing the proposal to ensure it is financially feasible," a spokesperson for the county executive said in a statement.

“The future of the Domes and Mitchell Park are important to the community," the spokesperson said in a statement. "This plan represents a good faith effort to realize that future, and we appreciate partners like Friends of the Domes in bringing forward creative solutions like this."

Crowley looks to address "the backlog of deferred maintenance needs across the community, while working towards a stable financial future for Milwaukee County," according to the statement.

The cost of the Domes renovation 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

FOD would pursue federal grants and additional private donations for the second phase of the project. “The county investment is 22% of the overall project cost,” Beall Diefenbach said in a news release. “This project offers a stellar return on investment by all counts.”

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