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While summer is entering the final home stretch, the development momentum in downtown continues to tick up! In this edition of Real Results MKE, we take a closer look at the rapid changes taking place in the Park East corridor.
We also sit down with Angela Damiani of NEWaukee to talk about all the wonderful work the social architecture firm is doing to better connect Milwaukeeans with the city that they love.
Plus, check out the newest tool for brokers and stakeholders--the West Wisconsin Avenue Opportunities Guide. It shares the story of the momentum in this corridor, as well as the investment opportunities that exist on Milwaukee's
main street.
We also updated the Milwaukee Downtown Area Investment Map. With over $6 billion in recently completed, under construction or soon-to-start investment, it's no wonder Milwaukee is in the midst of a true transformation. Take a look at the updates in the By The Numbers column.
Finally, mark your calendar for Wednesday, Sept. 21--the official launch date for Milwaukee's Better Buildings Challenge. There are new opportunities to assist commercial property owners in making their buildings more competitive through easy-to-use energy efficiency tools that ultimately help build a stronger bottom line. Learn more about the Better Buildings Challenge in this edition of Real Results MKE.
As always, thanks for reading!
Matt Dorner
Economic Development Director
Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21
Follow us on Twitter
@RealResultsMKE
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Transformative projects are underway across downtown Milwaukee, but arguably none may be as significant as the change underway on more than 12 acres in the Park East corridor.
Since mid-June, the Park East corridor to the west of the Milwaukee River, which has mainly sat dormant for more than a decade, has been bustling with significant construction activity. Projects include:
- $524 million sports and entertainment arena and future home to the Milwaukee Bucks,
- $43 million parking structure featuring 1,200 stalls, retail space, and a future block of apartments along the 6th Street elevation,
- $23 million training center (to be called the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center) on the triangular parcel directly west of the new parking structure. The 55,000 SF facility is expected to be the first project complete (fall 2017).
Adding to the list, the Milwaukee Bucks just announced a new partnership with Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin to open a three-story 37,000 SF clinic that would be connected to the training center. The new $10 million clinic will be Froedtert's first downtown area clinic.
The approximately $600 million of aggregate new investment is just the start of what is hoped to be a decade worth of development that creates a new mixed-use neighborhood, tying seamlessly with existing communities to the north, south, east and west.
Watch for one of the next phases to begin this fall. Demolition of the 4th Street parking structure will make way for the "live block" entertainment node.
Downtown Milwaukee and the surrounding neighborhoods are seeing significant investment that is creating new property tax base and jobs to support the entire City. Undoubtedly, the Park East corridor is one of those leading catalysts.
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To better capture and convey the mounting momentum of West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, WAM DC and Westown Association have unveiled a comprehensive development and opportunities guide for the corridor.
The Guide features key market statistics and showcases the numerous completed and soon-to-start catalytic projects, as well as highlights new investment and commercial lease opportunities. The tool also features testimonials from existing stakeholders and details the various incentive programs that are available to help make your project a reality! The Guide aims to assist brokers, property owners and other stakeholders in promoting the West Wisconsin Avenue corridor. At the same time, it also allows interested parties to quickly understand all the momentum that is building along the corridor and why it presents the right opportunity for their next investment.
For more information, or to request a copy of the West Wisconsin Avenue Development Guide, please contact Matt Dorner at
[email protected]. For a complete list of available lease and development opportunities, catalytic projects, market statistics and more, visit
www.WisconsinAve.com.
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EVENT SPOTLIGHT -
BETTER BUILDINGS CHALLENGE--MILWAUKEE LAUNCH EVENT
Wednesday, Sept. 21
To achieve the vision of a reenergized, more competitive-built environment, the City of Milwaukee's Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO) is excited to announce the expansion of the Better Buildings Challenge program to commercial buildings! September 21st is the official launch date, kicking off the rollout of new resources to help building owners and property managers enhance their buildings through energy efficiency upgrades.
For the current target market of Class B & C and small commercial buildings, the program provides free energy assessments and building consultations to help building owners and managers better understand energy and cost savings. It also provides a roadmap of building projects worth pursuing.
There are a number of other perks available to all buildings:
- Introduction to other available resources, such as the City of Milwaukee PACE financing program
- Marketing opportunities and awards given to participating buildings that are making improvements and completing projects
- Operations and maintenance support to help maintain energy efficiency investments
- Information on available and affordable energy-efficient technologies suitable to Milwaukee
For more information on the program or to fill out an interest form and contact program staff to talk about your eligibility for resources, visit
http://city.milwaukee.gov/BBC.
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We recently updated the Downtown Area Investment Map and with new projects continually being announced, it's almost time for another update! Since 2005, over $3.3 billion has been invested in completed private and public projects, and more than $2.6 billion is currently under construction or proposed to start soon. This record investment traverses all industry sectors, underscoring the strength of the downtown real estate market.
Download your copy of the 2016 Downtown Area Investment Map by clicking
here.
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STAKEHOLDERS SPOTLIGHT -
ANGELA DAMIANI
CEO and Co-Founder, NEWaukee
Angela Damiani is a top leader for NEWaukee, a social architecture firm that changes the way people connect in the city of Milwaukee.
What are NEWaukee's mission and goals?
Our mission is to change the way people connect. NEWaukee's programs and initiatives motivate Milwaukeeans to look critically at the city in which we live, to realize its potential and to empower folks to shape a city of which we all want to be a part.
What are some of NEWaukee's main initiatives that you are excited about?
At a regional level, our work with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has expanded YPWeek to 15 communities across the state, which has created a unifying brand for Wisconsin and launched the nation's largest millennial talent network. In a time when every community across the country is competing for talent, we have developed an internationally-recognized mechanism for community engagement and talent attraction as a united coalition. The impact for the state of Wisconsin has only just begun, as we invite all 72 counties to join us in reversing the migration of talent.
At a local level, we have been headquartered in the Grand Avenue for five years, and many of our programs have centered on the revitalization of this corridor. The Night Market is a prime example of this effort to reimagine Westown. We currently serve on the design team with the new ownership of the Grand Avenue and have developed the concept of the urban marketplace based on the successes we have found with the local, micro vending during the Night Market. We're super excited that the design team and the owners have been open to re-imagining this three-block development and transforming the property into a premier destination for downtown.
How do you see the continued revitalization of West Wisconsin Avenue as an important component of the larger renaissance underway in downtown?
What happens on West Wisconsin Avenue is critical to the renaissance of all of Milwaukee. The intersection of 3rd Street and Wisconsin Avenue, which is the gateway to the Grand Avenue, is the center of our city. It is the only intersection that every Milwaukeean traverses: tourists staying at the nearby hotels, bus riders from almost all lines of transit, students attending the surrounding universities, all of the major employers and their employees, as well as a verging residential population that is filling the newly constructed developments. Continued investment in this corridor will change downtown for decades to come.
What other projects or initiatives are key to keep positive momentum going in downtown and throughout the city?
I'm encouraged by the traction both the bus rapid transit and streetcar extension proposals have had in recent months. Connectivity to the investments that are being made downtown from the surrounding neighborhoods is incredibly important. I'm also enthusiastic about the work of MKE United. Their comprehensive and inclusive approach for planning what the next decade of Milwaukee will look like is unprecedented in our community.
What do you see as Milwaukee's biggest challenge?
There remains a severe disparity in the distribution of investment and development within our community. We continue to live and operate in silos, not crossing boundaries or lanes, assuming someone else will take care of the ills that plague a vast segment of our population. Only when we change this mentality and remember that we are only as good as what the least of us have access to, will the idea of a Milwaukee renaissance change from a common media narrative to a true reality.
What peer city do you believe offers the best qualities for Milwaukee to learn from?
Let us not keep comparing ourselves to other places. Let us be Milwaukee, the best version we can possibly muster. We too often try to compare ourselves to other places and denigrate ourselves for not having this or that. Enough already. We are the ones holding ourselves back from best and brightest versions of our future selves we want to be. Milwaukee is going to be what we make it.
When you are not working, what are your favorite hobbies?
I run a small business that blurs the lines of my social and professional life. It's hard to know when work ends and life begins, but I do spend a lot of time outside, walking and biking the city of Milwaukee, as well as getting my hands dirty in our tiny garden.
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