Milwaukee

From the Article:

Keep those shovels and snowblowers handy.

Southeastern Wisconsin has been dusted with two rounds of snow this week; the first as part of the winter storm that rolled through Wisconsin on Tuesday. The second arrived overnight Thursday, and we're not done just yet. Another system is expected to arrive in the area on Friday and bring with it both snow and below zero temperatures.

From the Article:

As part of multiple cost-cutting measures and real estate divestitures, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee intends to sell its chancellor’s residence at 3435 N. Lake Drive in Milwaukee.

The university said Thursday it will seek permission from the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents to sell the home. If approved, it will publicly list the property for sale in the coming months.

UWM chancellor Mark Mone in December 2023 moved into another nearby home, according to the announcement. Public records show Mone purchased a home one block closer to the campus in mid-November. He paid $1.13 million.

“Selling the chancellor’s residence is the smart financial move for our university,” Mone said in a statement.

The UWM Real Estate Foundation purchased the chancellor's residence for $955,000 in 2012. The current value is estimated to be $1,402,600, according to Zillow.

Built in 1926, the 4,818-square-foot home has six bedrooms and four bathrooms. It's in the Downer Woods neighborhood just east of the UWM campus.

Other properties that UWM has divested in recent years have included the former UWM Alumni House, which it sold for $1.8 million to Milwaukee businessman Andy Nunemaker in 2021.

Last year, UWM demolished its Northwest Quad Building A and permanently closed its Purin residence hall. It plans to demolish its old chemistry building, which previously was slated to be renovated for other purposes, according to UWM.

From the Article:

The penthouse at the top of the Couture tower – Wisconsin’s tallest residential building – is being marketed for lease for $11,650 a month.

That’s the highest-priced unit listed for the 44-story building at the downtown Milwaukee lakefront. Those penthouses are to open to tenants in August, but apartments in the Couture’s fourth through 30th floors will be ready for move-ins in April, according to a Thursday announcement by Barrett Lo Visionary Development. That move-in date follows a more than decade-long effort by Milwaukee-based Barrett Lo to get the about $190 million project approved and financed.

The top levels of the Couture have two penthouses, each with about 2,350 square feet. The two-level units have three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and outdoor terraces with about 350 square feet. The north-facing penthouse is priced at $11,585 a month, and the slightly larger south-facing one is $65 more.

The pricing goes down to $2,045 a month for the smallest apartment, a one-bedroom with 576 square feet facing west on the building’s fifth floor. In between are a number of two-bedroom units priced starting around $3,865 a month.

“The Couture will mark Milwaukee as a premier destination for discerning individuals who value living a world-class lifestyle in our energetic and beautiful city,” said Rick Barrett, founder of Barrett Lo. “We’re thrilled to welcome our soon-to-be residents to their new home.”

The Couture’s amenities include its outdoor terrace with a swimming pool with views of Lake Michigan, 24-hour concierge service, a dog park and an indoor clubhouse and lounge. The lower levels of the building also have large public spaces, including a park that will open this summer and a transit center to be served by The Hop streetcar system beginning in April.

There is about 45,000 square feet of retail space on the Couture’s three lower levels. No tenants have been announced.

From the Article:

The end is nigh for Northridge Mall, according to city officials. Milwaukee could take possession of the long-vacant mall by the end of the month through foreclosure. Demolition could begin in the summer.

That’s according to a multi-department presentation made Tuesday to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.

The mall’s Chinese ownership group, U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group, missed a Dec. 20 redemption deadline in a property tax foreclosure case. The final action on the case is expected to occur on Jan. 25.

“That’s kind of like checkmate,” said committee chair Alderman Michael Murphy.

The foreclosure could end a 2019 court case through which Black Spruce is contesting a raze order. The case has been pending before Judge William Sosnay while the parties await an appeals court ruling on the validity of the raze order.

The city intends to begin demolition in the next two months on the one portion of the mall structure it owns, the former Boston Store. Demolition of the remainder of the mall structure would begin in the summer.

After clearing the site by the fall of 2025, the city would have a 58-acre site ready for redevelopment.

Formally announced in December, a $15 million grant from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation would pay for demolishing the approximately 900,000-square-foot mall property, removing any environmental contaminants and preparing the site.

But Ald. Robert Bauman, an attorney, said the city might want to proceed with caution because Black Spruce would have 90 days to appeal the foreclosure and could get a cleared property back. The company could also win its appeal. But deputy city attorney Odalo J. Ohiku said the proper court guidance was followed in issuing the raze order following an earlier successful appeal. Assistant city attorney Hannah Jahn said the property has a negative value, given the cost to demolish the blighted structure, so Black Spruce’s damages would be limited. Bauman voted with his colleagues to move the proposal forward.

The mall, located near N. 76th Street and W. Brown Deer Road, closed in 2003 after 31 years of operation. A predecessor of Black Spruce acquired the property for $6 million in 2008. It proposed creating an Asian marketplace, but those plans have never advanced.

More than a half million dollars in unpaid contempt fines have been levied against Black Spruce for its failure to comply with a 2019 agreement to secure the property. At least four fires took place at the mall in 2022 and it has been a target for trespassing. Another fire took place in November.

A report Tuesday estimated that the city has spent more than $1 million and thousands of hours on securing the property. The Department of Neighborhood Services is said to have performed a daily inspection for more than 500 consecutive days.

From the Article:

The Milwaukee Police Department is asking for help to find critically missing 13-year-old Azoria Jones.

Police say Jones was last seen on Saturday, Jan. 6, near 35th Street and Kaul Avenue in Milwaukee wearing a pink coat, tank top and black pants. She is described as 5 feet 2 inches and 190 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Milwaukee Police Department District Four at (414) 935-7242.

From the Article:

With colder weather on the way, Milwaukee County leaders have announced locations where people can stay warm this winter.

In addition to already existing services, several warming centers will be opening in the coming weeks.

A warming center is a short-term emergency shelter where people can go to stay warm when temperatures become dangerously low.

From the Article:

A 17-block stretch along Walnut Street in Milwaukee has gotten a "first of its kind" makeover. The new design goes from Vel R. Phillips Avenue to North 20th Street on Walnut Street and is unlike any other street in the city right now.

"This was one where we were going to reconstruct the road, and this gave us the opportunity to kind of have a blank canvas," David Tapia, the city's Department of Public Works major project manager, said. "We were able to eliminate one of the travel lanes in each direction."

DPW said losing that one lane in each direction allowed crews to install protected bike lanes. One stretch has bicyclists off the road entirely and puts them on the same level as the sidewalk.

"We've got bump-outs, we've got raised crosswalks. We really started to implement a lot of the things that we wanted to do in totality on this project," Tapia said.

"What do you think of it?" WISN 12 News Hannah Hilyard asked a young man walking along Walnut Street Thursday.

"I think it's nice. I think it's more safe for the people who are riding bikes so people don't get hit by cars," Zechariah Malone responded.

At the intersection of North 6th and Walnut streets, crews installed more than a dozen concrete islands. Tapia said it's meant to slow drivers down as they make turns at the intersection and add "more locations that are protected for the pedestrian or bicyclist."

"If it betters the driving, and it looks better, I'm for it," Milwaukee resident Christopher Jones said.

Reducing the number of lanes and installing more bump-outs like this one has some residents concerned for snowplow drivers and how they'll maneuver along Walnut Street.

"We work with a fantastic group in our operations department and worked with them through the design process to make sure the width, even how we come in and out of these bump-outs, the fact we will now have these raised crosswalks," Tapia said. "Everything we do, we involve them through the process."

DPW said the project's point is to slow traffic down, making the roadway safer for all who use it.

"Take your time, understand where you're going," Tapia said. "Look for the pedestrians and bicyclists and make your maneuver safely."

Later this year, the city said it's looking to finish the project through North 2nd Street. There are also plans to install raised bike lanes on a portion of Wells Street downtown.

From the Article:

The Forest County Potawatomi Community is going all in on the entertainment business.

Sources tell the Journal Sentinel that the Potawatomi is planning to construct a $200 million concert venue that will seat up to 6,000 people on property just to the west of the tribe's Hotel & Casino.

The plan calls for the tribe to get approval from city officials and the Common Council this year and break ground in the first quarter of 2025.

"It would be shovel in the ground in March or at least the beginning of 2025," said a source familiar with the project.

Officials with the tribe declined to comment when asked about the concert hall.

But this unexpected proposal could throw a wrench into city-approved plans to build a $60 million music theater in the Deer District that would seat 4,500.

Why?

It appears that the Potawatomi would fund the venue on its own without relying on traditional financing, removing one major hurdle for the construction project.

In addition, one prominent Milwaukee music insider said the two venues would end up competing for the same performers, creating a showdown between the Deer District theater, which is backed by music-industry behemoth Live Nation Entertainment, and the casino-funded music hall.

"It would be Godzilla versus King Kong," the insider said.

The Journal Sentinel recently reported that the Potawatomi casino at 1721 Canal St. won at least $415 million from gamblers during the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to Journal Sentinel calculation based on fees paid by the tribe to the city and county of Milwaukee.

In the previous 12 months, the tribe posted a net win of about $395 million in winnings, the records show. The net win is the amount of money that gamblers lose at slot machines and table games.

Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said the city's top official had not received any briefings or specifics on the proposed new venue. But Fleming said Johnson "has been consistent in not using zoning or other regulatory approvals to address competitive business concerns."

From the Article:

Forecasters are expecting snow to dust southern Wisconsin for New Year's Eve Sunday, starting as early as 4 a.m. in Milwaukee and ending as late as 8 p.m.

The region could get about 0.5 to 1.5 inches of snow Sunday before skies clear for a sunny New Year's Day Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather could cause slippery stretches on the roads Sunday, though Milwaukee roads will likely be clear by nightfall, according to Mark Gehring, a local meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

The snow is expected to start farther west in Wisconsin, beginning as early as midnight Saturday night near Wisconsin Dells, pushing into Madison closer to 2 a.m., and arriving in Milwaukee between 4 and 6 a.m. Sunday. Forecasters expect the snowiest time to be between 7 and 10 a.m. Sunday.

"The snow will be wet," Gehring said. "You might have enough for a snowball."

From the Article:

With earmuffs and eyeglasses on, John Nelson of Kenosha and his son stand inside of a bulletproof-glassed bay.

A target featuring a blue silhouette hangs from the ceiling a few yards in front of the duo, riddled with dozens of small holes.

"Once I saw this place, we just had to try it," Nelson told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White.

The place Nelson is talking about is the Eagle Sports Range on E. Layton Ave.

With 40 lanes for pistols and rifles, plus the sheer amount of square footage the facility boasts, General Manager Todd Jaber said it is now the largest gun range in Wisconsin.

"For us to be able to open up our doors for as many customers as we possibly can is definitely amazing," Jaber said, noting they had a soft opening Dec. 21.

Customers like Nelson can either rent one of the 100+ choices of available firearms, from pistols to AK-47s to hunting shotguns, or they can bring their own.

“We bought our own gun for Christmas, so it was kind of a present to ourselves, but it was the first time shooting it today, and coming here with the new gun was good,” Nelson said. "I've been looking for this thing online for probably the past year and I finally pulled the trigger and bought it, and it was everything we expected.”

Nelson and his son were just two of dozens on Tuesday morning, checking out the site.

On the east side of the building there are pistol lanes and on the west side is a rifle range.

Each area has 20 lanes which offer "unlimited shooting" -- meaning customers aren't timed.

To use the pistol range, expect to pay $25, with the rifle range coming in at $30. It costs $40 for both.

Customers can also add additional shooters for $15 with a three-person maximum per lane.

Gun enthusiasts have the option to sign up for the "Eagle All Access" memberships which are $50 per month, or $550 for the entire year with one month free.

Currently, several classes are offered, including concealed carry, intro to handguns, junior shooters ages 10 to 14, and private one-on-one lessons.

"Later in the year we'll introduce more intermediate courses as well," Jaber said. “Our sales staff is trained to help everybody and teach them for anything that they need to know, whether that’s simple things like how you load a magazine or how you rack a slide."

Jaber added that the controlled environment should help make anyone feel safe and comfortable, regardless of shooting experience.

“Our counter allows everybody to get everything that they may need, from safety equipment like eye protection and ear protection, and range safety officers are present at all times to make sure that everyone’s doing their shooting accordingly," Jaber said. “I know that sometimes they may look intimidating, but I think once you actually get a chance to get out there, get on the range, you actually learn a lot that this is actually a sport more than anything.”

Eagle Sports Range is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

They hope to host a grand opening in February.

From the Article:

Whether it's navigating the construction design phase, cataloguing the 4 million artifacts or raising the necessary funds to break ground, the Milwaukee Public Museum is managing multiple elements to its $240 million Wisconsin Wonders campaign for a new museum in Milwaukee's historic Haymarket Square near Fiserv Forum.

The Milwaukee Public Museum adjusted its timeline to begin breaking ground in the spring, with an opening date at the beginning of 2027. That was an adjustment of about a quarter, with the previous timeline being breaking ground before the end of 2023 and opening in late 2026.

Chief planning officer Katie Sanders said this was a fairly insignificant adjustment and one that is not uncommon with major construction projects.

In order to break ground this spring, the museum also has to secure additional funding, which senior vice president of development Julie Quinlan Brame expressed confidence in doing. Quinlan Brame said to date, the museum has achieved every fundraising campaign milestone and has raised $151 million of its $240 million total.

She added that the museum has about $70 million in private donations and has a goal of securing $105 million in private donations to break ground, meaning the museum needs to raise about an additional $35 million before its spring deadline.

"Right now, we’re really focused on helping donors name the galleries and exhibit halls in order to help honor someone they care about," Quinlan Brame said.

The Milwaukee Public Museum also is creating benefits packages for corporations interested in donating, which includes special dates for employees to come see the new museum on early preview dates.

Milwaukee Public Museum president and CEO Ellen Censky also told the Milwaukee County Board during a recent meeting that the museum has about $120 million in asks to potential donors. She gave the comparison that in 2022, the museum secured $22 million in gifts from these types of requests and anticipates the same in the 2023 giving year.

Sanders said current work for the new museum includes the construction design phase, which documents specific details of all the exhibits and every part of the building down to how tall an exhibit case has to be so that all viewers can see it or which artifacts are placed into which exhibit cases to tell a story.

"We’re starting to see exactly which collections are going to be placed where and which ones will rotate," Sanders said.

At the new museum site, there is minimal work that needs to be done ahead of the anticipated spring groundbreaking. Sanders said some utility poles have to be removed as well as a bit of foundation wall and some alleyway. She anticipates activity on the site for the next four to six weeks before a quiet period ahead of the groundbreaking.

The museum's curatorial staff also is in the process of cataloguing, barcoding and preparing the 4 million artifacts that are part of Milwaukee County's collection that will be moved into the new museum. The museum is working on securing an offsite storage facility for objects that won't immediately be on display in the new museum.

From the Article:

Already planning your spring break vacation? New nonstop flights are leaving Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in 2024 for destinations like Orlando and Cancun.

From the Article:

Workers at a Starbucks cafe on the Marquette University campus announced Wednesday they are organizing a union, becoming the first in the city of Milwaukee to join the national campaign.

Workers are organizing the store at 1610 W. Wisconsin Ave., with Starbucks Workers United, a new labor union backed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The union has successfully organized more than 9,000 Starbucks workers at more than 380 locations across the country. The Starbucks in Oak Creek at 8880 S. Howell Ave. was the first in Wisconsin that successfully organized.

Employees at the campus Starbucks store have filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). There are approximately 20 baristas and shift supervisors who make up the bargaining unit at this location. A letter sent to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan includes the signatures of 13 workers — representing a majority of the bargaining unit — and a demand that Starbucks recognize the union and bargain with it.
A recent decision by the NLRB, called the CEMEX decision, has rebalanced the power between workers and management during unionization campaigns. The decision holds that unions do not need to file for an NLRB election and can assert union representation simply by presenting their employer with union authorization cards signed by a majority of workers.

“After months – and for some, years – of being disrespected and ignored by upper management, our partners are tired of looking to them for solutions,” said barista Ian Shurbet in a statement released by the union. “We’ve been inevitably led to the formation of a union, one that can provide the security that our coworkers and friends have been asking to have for far too long.”

From the Article:

Following Starbucks' nearly 20-year run as the vendor at Red Arrow Park, the Milwaukee County Parks announced today that Biggby Coffee is the new chosen partner for the cafe, which flanks the park on the east.

Founded in 1995, Biggby Coffee is a swiftly expanding Michigan-based coffee chain, which currently operates 361 outlets across 13 U.S. states, including ten in Wisconsin. The newest opens next week at 5861 S. Packard Ave. in Cudahy.

"We are proud to welcome Biggby Coffee to Red Arrow Park and believe their presence will contribute to the vibrant atmosphere of this downtown destination," said Guy Smith, Executive Director of Milwaukee County Parks in a release. "Our commitment to providing exceptional experiences in our parks remains steadfast, and we are confident that this collaboration will bring new energy to Red Arrow Park."

Biggby Coffee offers a menu of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, energy drinks, frozen drinks and food options including muffins, bagels and bagel sandwiches.

"Red Arrow Park is a catalytic destination in our community, and Milwaukee County is committed to further activating this downtown hotspot," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. "We anticipate that the arrival of a new food and beverage operator will deliver new energy, opportunity, and delicious concessions for parkgoers to enjoy moving forward."

The partnership between Milwaukee County Parks and Biggby Coffee, which was the product of the city’s RFP process, is still pending approval by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. But Smith notes that there is much excitement surrounding the potential for the new vendor to contribute to the park's future.

"As the stewards of these public spaces, Milwaukee County Parks takes pride in fostering partnerships that enrich the community experience," notes Smith.

"Red Arrow Park has a lot to offer this winter, including the anticipated opening of the ice rink and various recreational activities. We encourage the community to embrace the changes and enjoy the park's offerings."