Milwaukee County officials celebrated the grand opening of the new Marcia P. Coggs Health & Human Services Center on Friday.
Located at 1230 W. Cherry St., just west of downtown Milwaukee, the 60,000-square-foot facility replaces the aging Health and Human Services Center building a block away.
Unlike the older building – a former Schuster’s department store – the new building is designed specifically to deliver health and human services. The new building was designed by Engberg Anderson Architects, with JP Cullen serving as general contractor. The $32 million project was funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act and approved by the county in 2022.
Hundreds of residents, community leaders and elected officials attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which had the feel of a block party, several speakers remarked. Nonprofit organizations and county departments set up booths outside showcasing their social services.
“This is more than a building. It’s a lifeline,” said Shakita LaGrant-McClain, executive director of Milwaukee County’s Department of Health and Human Services.
The new facility is now home to the DHHS and offers a range of services, including behavioral health support, child and family services, veteran assistance, housing and energy programs, youth wraparound services and an on-site food pantry.
The center is named after the late Marcia P. Coggs, a pioneering lawmaker and the first Black woman elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly. She was also the first Black legislator to serve on the state’s Joint Finance Committee. Her granddaughter, Milwaukee County Supervisor Priscilla Coggs-Jones, said the new center reflects her grandmother’s commitment to public service.
“It embodies her belief that public service is not paperwork, it’s personal,” Coggs-Jones said.
Milwaukee County has selected Oregon, Wis.-based Gorman & Co. to redevelop the former health and human services building into 65 units of affordable housing. The firm is known for restoring historic properties into affordable housing across the state.
The new facility is the first new county building constructed near downtown Milwaukee since 1992 and is part of a larger push to reinvest in the King Park area, county officials said. In partnership with Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity and others, the county is also supporting the development of 120 new homes on vacant lots in the King Park and Midtown neighborhoods.
