That is the coolest thing ever

Yes it is. I check it every day. It is especially cool if a storm is brewing over the lake and you want to check out the waves hitting the breakwall. Being a former boater, this is especially interesting and useful to me.

That is the coolest thing ever

I completely agree. Thank you for posting that!!!

That webcam is incredibly badass. I wonder if there are similar ones for other cities?

That webcam is incredibly badass. I wonder if there are similar ones for other cities?

Hold on to your hats Madisonites! This one is way cool too! I love web cams of cities. I posted these a while back with little fanfare. Glad some interest is here now.

http://lakecam.engr.wisc.edu/view/view.shtml

Here are a couple from Miami.

http://rumler.com/miami/webcam.htm

http://live6.truelook.com/face/newface.jsp?func=live&name=/ecodb/fourseasons/camera1&pan=-47.222622&tilt=-11.802881&panfov=41.5&tiltfov=31.125&overlay=default&skin=FourSeasonsJan2005&useapplet=true&time=1130017540440&width=640&height=480&quality=65&catalognam

Is Tom Barrett more open to gov. hand outs to corporations than Norquist? It would be nice to pull one major, Indianopolis type subsidy of a dept. store such as Nordstroms,
not just for legacy, but as a true catalyst.

I believe we are already subsidizing the Boston Store as part of the Wispak redevelopment that kept the then northern headquarters of Saks, Inc in downtown Milwaukee. This of course is now the main buying office for Bon Ton.

As far as the hotel/convention business, first of all realize we have yet to "finish" constructing our convention hall. I think we have only finished phases 1 and 2. Phase three has yet to be built. If we ever get the final phase built we will have a much better chance at attracting large scale conventions that need major blocks of hotel rooms. We don't have that attractiveness right now. If we step up to the plate and expand our convention center, someone will build a major hotel across the street. No hotel operator is just going to build a 400+ room hotel with the hope of a convention center expansion. Secondly, it is my understanding that hotel room occupancy rates in downtown Milwaukee are below industry averages. That is why getting more businesses located downtown is so important, ie Manpower and other companies of its ilk. Among the numerous benefits are more business travelers demanding more hotel rooms. Finally, downtown has to compete with the 200,000sq.ft. convention hall that Tommy Thompson just had to ram through as part of an ill-conceived hotel/convention/retail node at state fair park. Once again a lack of a cohesive regional plan rears its ugly head.

I will be shocked if all three proposals go through. IMO best case scenario for Milwaukee is the third ward Marriott (With a sleek modern look), Lake Pointe Tower landing a big office user from Chicago and punting its hotel, and a major hotel development opposite the convention center with at least 400 rooms. I have a hard time believing there is anyway that the Ghazi project will be able to go forward with 400 condos being the main focus. I also have a hard time believing Milwaukee can support 3 brand new upscale/luxury hotels at one shot. Especially without the convention center expansion and before anybody has any concrete data on the number of visitors the Harley museum and Aquarium will actually bring.

True, the convention center is not fully built out yet. Despite that, even with the convention space we have now, there have still been conventions that have passed us up, or dropped out, citing a lack of hotel rooms. That's been going on since before the 9/11 slump experienced all around the country, which has been picking up a bit in recent years.

Marcus wants THE convention hotel (Hilton, a paltry 750-770 rooms..), they want to have the "best" hotel ("Prestige" hotel member--yearly fee to be listed.) Why has that hideous surface parking between them and Boston Store been fallow for so long? Are the environmental impact studies that much more detrimental to a project's solvency in that downtown location than anywhere else? Hah. Seems like the Brownfields, vast swaths of toxic death in the Valley didn't impede Harley-Davidon's progress.

Marcus, and Selig,
The two names that have kept Milwaukee in the minor leagues (conventions, tourist destination.)

Wouldn't it be nice to have one hotel, just one hotel, Mr. Marcus that was comparable to yours and not that New Jesery Turnpike, service road of a joke Ramada Inn close by your cherished Hilton??? Hotel Intercontinental, A Penninsula, Shangrila, Swissotel, or W?

I agree...Sacramento is going to have an Intercontinental. Why shouldn't we?

I can't see the cam because I'm at work. But, it appears that the banner on top is a picture of the Baltimore skyline. ????

Milwaukee has always suffered from a lack of hotel rooms. During the Harley 100th Birthday bash many of the bikers were left without rooms in the area and had to reserve rooms far from the city. There should be no reason why bikers or anyone should have to resort to reserving rooms in Chicago for a Milwaukee event! Although a group that large was going have problems finding rooms in any other city as well, in Milwaukee the problem was worse.

yeah, some bikers from New Zealand were going to pay my aunt thousands to rent out here house for the event. It was pretty bad with no hotel rooms. We would still have Gen Con if it wasnt for this! :bash:

Wouldn't it be nice to have one hotel, just one hotel, Mr. Marcus that was comparable to yours and not that New Jesery Turnpike, service road of a joke Ramada Inn close by your cherished Hilton??? Hotel Intercontinental, A Penninsula, Shangrila, Swissotel, or W?

that whole part over there is a dump and I would not care if they dynamited the entire area. That Ramada has got to be the biggest joke in downtown. If I recall, the Yankees players on Seinfeld saying to George, "Hey, arent you that guy who put us in the Ramada in Milwaukee?" :)

Seriously, I think we should Park East that sucker.

True, the convention center is not fully built out yet.

Will it ever be? It is my understanding that phase III should have been completed by now. Far from being finished, there hasn't even been any significant public discussion on the topic.

Despite that, even with the convention space we have now, there have still been conventions that have passed us up, or dropped out, citing a lack of hotel rooms. That's been going on since before the 9/11 slump experienced all around the country, which has been picking up a bit in recent years.

So you are telling me the hospitality industry is completely dropping the ball on the Milwaukee market? That the folks at Marriott, Sheraton, Embassy Suites etc, are missing a fantastic opportunity to add to their bottom line in Milwaukee? Here are some nearby/like markets and their convention facilities:

Minneapolis 750,000 sq.ft
Cinncinati 750,000 sq.ft. - Major expansion finishing summer 2006
Kansas City 388,000 sq.ft. - Adding another 50,000 sq.ft. by 2007
Indy 540,000 sq.ft - Includes RCA Dome
Chicago-McCormick Place 2.2 million sq.ft.
Milwaukee - 226,000 sq.ft.

I would submit that whatever conventions Milwaukee is missing due to lack of rooms, the hospitality industry doesn't deem worth chasing by building a 400+ room hotel due to overall limitations of the convention facility in downtown itself. The fact that hotel proposals for the vacant lot continue to be smaller and smaller supports this. The fact that two of the three proposals that do exist for downtown hotel are not located within walking distance of the convention center also supports this. IMO these hotel proposals (Marriott and Sheraton for 3rd ward and Lake Point) are going after a completely different market segment (business/tourist/boutique style) vs. directly trying to support a convention facility/having conventioneers drive their business. As the Milwaukee market exists now, that's just good business sense.

Actually Milwaukee lost the Gen-Con convention to Indianapolis not because of convention hall space but because of the lack of hotel rooms. I don't think convention hall space is as important as the trend is suggesting. It's just another race to the bottom like the "World's Tallest Building" idiocy. Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Orlando, are eventually going to price themselves out of this moronic, we're bigger idiots than they are. The hotel room prices in Chicago have gone up dramatically since they've expanded McCormick Place A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, ad nauseum.

Can someone please tell me why the hell the Milwaukee Art Museum does not replace lights underneath the Brise Soleil when they go out? I can understand driving by at night and seeing one light burned out... but tonight I counted eight. EIGHT! On the same token, when I was walking around the building last week, I couldn't help but notice the excessive amount of dirt covering the building (walls, railings, windows).

The Calatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, in my opinion, is one of the most spectacular buildings in the entire world. Neglecting to wash dirty walls and replace lightbulbs is ludicrous.

Neglecting to wash dirty walls and replace lightbulbs is ludicrous.


agreed. i think they should pay me and i'll go out there with a hose and hose off the building and replace burnt out bulbs.

Are there any renders of Lake Point Tower? I can't find any anywhere! :mad:

Are there any renders of Lake Point Tower? I can't find any anywhere!

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/2549/lakepointe5wj.jpg

This rendering, which appears to be more of a preliminary design rather than a representation of any kind of final design, was posted on the Halvorson Partners' (structural engineers) website. However, the rendering disappeared from their website a few weeks ago--perhaps coincidentally, right after the Small Business Times mentioned in an article that a rendering was available for viewing at the HP website. In that same article, one of the developers involved with the project mentioned that there's nothing much to talk about for Lake Point Tower since there aren't any viable anchor tenants lined up.

Downtown Parking Push (http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2006/04/03/story3.html)
Some real estate brokers and developers are encouraging Milwaukee city officials to take steps to provide cheaper and more plentiful parking downtown. Parking proponents suggest that the city start a fund or parking authority to administer parking lots and accommodate office tenants.

Pfister & Vogel project doesn't fit guidelines for city assistance (http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2006/04/03/editorial1.html)
The residential boom in downtown Milwaukee has been well documented. Since 2002, developers have planned or built 2,352 condominiums valued at $739.4 million in four downtown-area aldermanic districts. Many are selling for more than $500,000.

Brewers sell 1.3 million tickets by opening day (http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2006/04/03/daily7.html)
The Milwaukee Brewers have already sold 1.3 million tickets for the 2006 season, a 30 percent increase compared with the same point in 2005.

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/2549/lakepointe5wj.jpg

This rendering, which appears to be more of a preliminary design rather than a representation of any kind of final design, was posted on the Halvorson Partners' (structural engineers) website. However, the rendering disappeared from their website a few weeks ago--perhaps coincidentally, right after the Small Business Times mentioned in an article that a rendering was available for viewing at the HP website. In that same article, one of the developers involved with the project mentioned that there's nothing much to talk about for Lake Point Tower since there aren't any viable anchor tenants lined up.

As you indicated, Markitect, the image of Lake Pointe Tower has disappeared from the Halvorson Partners site mentioned above -- but not the references to the project itself. If you click on the Projects link, and then the highest number of the work samples shown for each of the Office, Residential/Hotel, and Mixed-Use categories, the project still shows up on the list. Maybe Halvorson just wants to lower the profile of the project (e.g., not call attention to the heliport).

is the heliport really needed? what do you guys think...

is the heliport really needed? what do you guys think...

It's definitely needed. I have trouble finding a place to park my helicopter all the time.

If the developers feel that they can generate sufficient revenue by offering a place downtown for people to land their helicopters, then, well, more power to 'em.

I personally think the idea is a little silly.

LPT has an interesting design, definitely some potential there, it would make its cousin in Chicago proud. Let's hope things can get going for it.

Maybe I shouldn't even be on these boards. When I was a kid I was infatuated with skylines and skyscrapers. But now as an older member of society, I
see skyscrapers no longer separating a city from the herd (glorifying,dignifying), but instead just making a city look like every other urban center on the planet.

Skyscrapers, now that these edifices are prevalent across the globe, and no longer
a sign of Western prosperity or modernity, seem to make skylines hideously, indistinguishable. And now that downtown (the last 10 years) is the place to live, drink and be merry, wouldn't it make good marketing sense for local city council members to provide incentives to redevelop existing, native structures unique only to that city's historic and cultural identity? Wouldn't it make more sense to reinvest in the infrastructure, the historic underused places, then build more, and more skyscraping ubiquity?

Maybe I shouldn't even be on these boards. When I was a kid I was infatuated with skylines and skyscrapers. But now as an older member of society, I
see skyscrapers no longer separating a city from the herd (glorifying,dignifying), but instead just making a city look like every other urban center on the planet.

Skyscrapers, now that these edifices are prevalent across the globe, and no longer
a sign of Western prosperity or modernity, seem to make skylines hideously, indistinguishable. And now that downtown (the last 10 years) is the place to live, drink and be merry, wouldn't it make good marketing sense for local city council members to provide incentives to redevelop existing, native structures unique only to that city's historic and cultural identity? Wouldn't it make more sense to reinvest in the infrastructure, the historic underused places, then build more, and more skyscraping ubiquity?

i understand your viewpoint but i know you're fully aware that skyscrapers arent just there to look pretty. if a company wants to move to the city center and needs a certain amount of office space, the current structures arent necessarily going to have what they need, thus larger buildings are built. w

hile i can respect history and old architecture as much as anything else, it definitely seems kind of contridictory for a history buff who feels that keeping and restoring old buildings is better than developing new ones would be part of a forums like this, especially posting often in a development thread. :) never the less you do offer a good opinion that we seldom see around here

Development for the sake of development is a cop out.
Development shouldn't compromise a city's identity. Development should make a city unique not make it part of the latest urban trend, and blend it in to the built blandness, stretching across, growing cities on the planet.

I have said on a number of occasions that I love the John Hancock Center (875 North Michigan Avenue) in Chicago, unless the statute of limitations has expired and it too is part of history, and no longer modern. Oh and more recent in time, in Dubai, the Burj Al Arab hotel is unbelievable. I guess it goes back to my old thread about cutting-edge architecture, developers are calling the shots, and architects are an afterthought.

Development for the sake of development is a cop out.
Development shouldn't compromise a city's identity. Development should make a city unique not make it part of the latest urban trend, and blend it in to the built blandness, stretching across, growing cities on the planet.

I have said on a number of occasions that I love the John Hancock Center (875 North Michigan Avenue) in Chicago, unless the statute of limitations has expired and it too is part of history, and no longer modern. Oh and more recent in time, in Dubai, the Burj Al Arab hotel is unbelievable. I guess it goes back to my old thread about cutting-edge architecture, developers are calling the shots, and architects are an afterthought.

I and pretty much everyone on this forum would agree with you on that point. its far too often that companies propose a development and "settle" on what the architects throw out at them. Its nice in places like Dubai where it seems all (or atleast almost all) of the developers set high standards and every building that comes out is unique or atleast couldnt be classified as boring. everything there seems cutting edge and if not impressed by the diversity of architecture, most are impressed by the scale, both of buildings and the entire project that is dubai. i know when manpower announced its plan to move downtown a lot of people on here were syked about a new building. hopefully something flashy and cutting edge. maybe even a tower... but instead we got... what we got. an odly shaped 2 (or 3?) story glass box. then with bayshore. they're going to set themselves apart!... by making their signature building something no other shopping center would consider (due to its lack of creativity.) someone said it looks like a high school and thats exactly what it looks like.

as you said development for the sake of development is a cop out and its a shame when every downtown looks the same as every other downtown. while milwuakee does have historic german architecture and some amazing examples of architecture dating back as long as i can count, i think most would agree that filling in a couple gaps with something flashy and tall would be nice. UTC and KT are great looking towers and aside from their unbe-fucking-lievable vicinity, they're a solid addition to the skyline.

i guess put simply, it all really seems to boil down to your last sentence...while i comepletely understand where you're coming from, i still think that just looking from a standard persons standpoint, not necessarily an architecture slut like those of us here, people usually could care less about a beautiful peice of historic architecture. people want tall flashy buildings. humans are creatures of habit and unless they literally set their mind on being different from the crowd, everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and milwaukees skyline is too spread out to compete with those of similarly sized cities. unfortunately if milwaukee were to advertise to tourism for things like its amazing historic architecture, it would catch the attention of a disappointly small crowd. people want more tall buildings and while it takes a lot more than just a desire for buildings to actually get a building, people are going to bitch and moan everytime a proposal for the next highrise gets shoved to the emporis 'never built' category. while i'd much rather have a gap in the skyline than a 40 story box, i definitely cant complain when developers propose something unique for this area. milwaukee doesnt have an incredible diverse skyline. LPT would be a very nice addition as it would very much stand out from the crowd. i cant think of another building anywhere that resembles that, while buildings like 100 east wisconsin have a twin and boxes like the US bank can be found in almost any city in the world in all colors and sizes.

i guess put simply, it all really seems to boil down to your last sentence...while i comepletely understand where you're coming from, i still think that just looking from a standard persons standpoint, not necessarily an architecture slut like those of us here, people usually could care less about a beautiful peice of historic architecture. people want tall flashy buildings. humans are creatures of habit and unless they literally set their mind on being different from the crowd, everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and milwaukees skyline is too spread out to compete with those of similarly sized cities. unfortunately if milwaukee were to advertise to tourism for things like its amazing historic architecture, it would catch the attention of a disappointly small crowd. people want more tall buildings and while it takes a lot more than just a desire for buildings to actually get a building, people are going to bitch and moan everytime a proposal for the next highrise gets shoved to the emporis 'never built' category. while i'd much rather have a gap in the skyline than a 40 story box, i definitely cant complain when developers propose something unique for this area. milwaukee doesnt have an incredible diverse skyline. LPT would be a very nice addition as it would very much stand out from the crowd. i cant think of another building anywhere that resembles that, while buildings like 100 east wisconsin have a twin and boxes like the US bank can be found in almost any city in the world in all colors and sizes.

while taller buildings are ok, i guess, they certainly aren't going to set us apart from the rest of the world. we will never out-skyscraper chicago, tokyo or probably even minneapolis. and i for one don't care. milwaukee should strive to be different, not the same. people comment that we have a european feel and I think we should continue in that direction: dense, mid-rise buildings.

yes, i am in the wrong forum too.

Coming from Milwaukee originally, I never really appreciated how unique the city is. I live in Orlando now and it is interesting to see the makings of a big city, but it will just never be able to duplicate that urban feel that many cities in the North have. Orlando is a perfect example of just building for the sake of building. We have never seen a project here, big box retailer or anything for that matter that we did not like. The result is that every single street looks the same with the same chain restaurants/stores and an urban sprawl nightmare. Milwaukee has an urban landscape that all of these new super growth cities of the South and West will never be able to touch no matter how large their populations become.

So UW-Milwaukee is changing its name. What do you guys like the most? I don't really like either Milwaukee or Wisconsin State. It should change its name though

Is there an article about this name change? What are the options of names they are looking at?

They want to change it to Wisconsin State Univ. Personally i'm all for it. i think it will allow for its own prestige and it wont be thrown in with "those other UW schools." its a big school and no longer should be considered second-tier. there was a rally today (thurs) in spaights plaza on the UWM campus and apparently they sold 500+ t-shirts and over 1000 buttons. i know for those people on facebook theres a couple groups started that are pro-name change and i think one or two against it.

a couple links:

http://uwm2wsu.com/

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=413841

Thanks D-res!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b355/djcody/milwaukeebannersmall.jpg

I am all for the name change, but I would like the new name to be Milwaukee State University or University of Milwaukee to highlight the university's urban focus. It would be akin to Cleveland State or the University of Cincinnati, rather than Iowa State or Michigan State.

I agree with you, milwaukeeunseen. As a UWM grad ('74), I dislike the WSU name for several reasons:
1) There once was -- not too long ago -- a Wisconsin State University system: Whitewater, Platteville (I think) and several other schools belonged. The gripe was that it was seen as a second-class institution, so it was eventully rolled into the UW system. WSU is an old name with a dubious association.
2) If UWM becomes WSU, it will be claiming for itself a larger emotional or geographical territory/affinity base than it has a right to, and thus commits the same UW-Madison hubris to pretend to be more than it is.
For me, University of Milwaukee or Milwaukee University works best.

Wisconsin State University, I actually thought it was another one of those Chinese-English creations. I was in a country outside North America that had a market area with a very large Chinese population, and a man selling ginger root in bins was wearing a forest green Wisconsin State University, sweatshirt.


I like University of Milwaukee too, makes me think of University of Chicago.
____________ State University is a common formula used in virtually every
state in this great country of ours. North Dakota State University, San Diego State University, Mississippi State University, Montana State University(?),
not cream of the crop, top of the heap institutions of higher learning.
I think MSU (Michigan State University) is the only one with cred. SDSU is probably into biotech somehow.

Does this mean the state money spiggot is shut off once the name change occurs?

I am against the name change to some extent; although, the arguement made for it is very respectful. The school is covered with banners and signs and all this stuff saying "UWM". For this name change to take place, it would not happen overnight. In the past they tried to change it, and it never passed through the board(?). It would bring more recognition to the school in terms of the national perspective, but the overall school will not change or really benefit from this at all. WSU would mix up everything, due to the fact that wright state university (WSU) already resides within the horizon league. Wisc-Milw is fine for me...anyways we would be more of a "dance" team when we win the march madness....hah. Idk what to go for, as long as tuition stays the same and the education and students remain the same, who cares.

Also, i UWM changes, so will oshkosh, plateville,la crosse, stevens point, ect.

It would bring more recognition to the school in terms of the national perspective, but the overall school will not change or really benefit from this at all.

Never doubt the strength of a brand. If they rebranded themselves properly the change could result in more $$. And the attention they would get could help their cause to become a full out research university.

And just to put in my vote... I like the University of Milwaukee option.

I am all for the name change, but I would like the new name to be Milwaukee State University or University of Milwaukee to highlight the university's urban focus. It would be akin to Cleveland State or the University of Cincinnati, rather than Iowa State or Michigan State.

while i can completley see where you're coming from, i have one single argument which i think is the only reason why if a name change occurs, it should incorporate wisconsin rather than milwaukee. From what i've read, UWM graduates more wisconsin residents than any other in-state school. rightly so i think that given that this is true, i think by naming it wisconsin state shows its state-wide influence and appeal.

for the people who are blatantly against any name change, i have yet to hear a REALLY good argument against it. the most common qualms are against raised tuition, cost of the name change, and government funding.

1. tuition: as far as this goes i dont see why it would be a problem. as it stands currently, if the name change occurs, uwm, msu, wsu, whatever will still be part of the UW system. if it seperates from the uw system and become an independent public university, then i can see the possibility of increased tuition, depending upon the government funding factoer, which i'll address in a second...

2. cost of the change: while changing the name on every sign and flag around campus will cost extra, things like jersys and merchandise will most likely not be affected. every year all the merchandise is purchased new anyway. all it takes is sending in a new logo and buying as they usually do. aside from sign and logo changes around campus, i dont think it will cause some massive univeristy-wide debt.

3. government funding. i will admit that i am not expert on economics or anything of this sort. look at my wallet and see how quickly money flies out of it. i cant hold on to money if its superglued to my forehead, but when it comes to funding i see only a few possibilities and mostly positive ones. if it changes the name and remains part of the UW system, which is what seems to be the current case, i dont think there will be a problem. I see no reason why there would be a shortage or why the school would receive less funding than it already gets being part of the system. if it seperates from the system and becomes independent, it could go either way. i think there is always a chance that if it does become independent, it could receive less funding due ot the fact that its no longer part of this prestigious system and its almost turned into a liability since theres no way to tell if this new independent school will succeed or fail as is. of course on the other hand i think funding could increase because of that same reason. its independent so it no longer splits funds with the other schools. it would become its own system and thus require different funding. along with that i think the name change could bring more potential success to the school due to its new image and its ever growing prestige and success as a solid educational institution. i think there will be more outside investment from companies and more grants from wealthy people who believe in the future or WSU or MSU.

who knows... i think in part its about prestige. UWM is the second largest uni in the state and the only other uw school that grants doctoral degrees. its making a name for itself now that its diving in the the research business and its architecture, film and nursing schools are all top notch and widely respected, along with several other schools like business, which each years seem to gain more and more ground on the bigger, more well-known schools. i dont think its so much that it's named university of wisconsin-milwaukee, but that madison, whiled undoubtadle a great institution, is calling itself the university of wisconsin. it may be a step above the other school in the state in a lot of cases but i personally feel thats no reason to shove the rest of the schools, whom are all respectable in their own right, to the back of the line, making them look like "easy alternatives if you're too stupid to get into madison."

I think because of UWM size and growing popularity and power among universities, it simply wants to make itself a global university. I know that is exactly what the chancellor is working for. putting UWM on the global market and showing that it is a great place to earn an education and should rightly be known as such. A name change will put UWM on a new level because it will no longer be considered just another alternative to that university powerhouse to the west which hogs the UW spotlight. I'm by no means jealous, but I am proud to attend UWM and i think that its a great school that deserves more recognition than it receives...

i like U of Milwaukee. I like the basketball jerseys with Milwaukee on the front.

while i can completley see where you're coming from, i have one single argument which i think is the only reason why if a name change occurs, it should incorporate wisconsin rather than milwaukee. From what i've read, UWM graduates more wisconsin residents than any other in-state school.

Milwaukee must remain in the name, its apart of our city. The people throughout the state chose to attend college in the "big city of wisconsin" - milwaukee. Its practically within the heart of the city..near brady street...a few miles from downtown...on the East side. I just feel UWM ties way to much into Milwaukee life rather then Wisconsin life. People from up north say its a whole new experience and are shocked at our cities diversity. Milwaukee must stay within the name.

while taller buildings are ok, i guess, they certainly aren't going to set us apart from the rest of the world. we will never out-skyscraper chicago, tokyo or probably even minneapolis. and i for one don't care. milwaukee should strive to be different, not the same. people comment that we have a european feel and I think we should continue in that direction: dense, mid-rise buildings.

yes, i am in the wrong forum too.
MilwaukeeD, you're a wise man, er, person

Coming from Milwaukee originally, I never really appreciated how unique the city is. I live in Orlando now and it is interesting to see the makings of a big city, but it will just never be able to duplicate that urban feel that many cities in the North have. Orlando is a perfect example of just building for the sake of building. We have never seen a project here, big box retailer or anything for that matter that we did not like. The result is that every single street looks the same with the same chain restaurants/stores and an urban sprawl nightmare. Milwaukee has an urban landscape that all of these new super growth cities of the South and West will never be able to touch no matter how large their populations become.
Um, I don't know for sure but wouldn't you say that, for the most part, people who move to Orlando or just about any other place on the Florida peninsula, excluding Miami maybe, don't move there for the urban experience? I've always seen these people as people who want to escape the urban lifestyle and may even want to inbrace the sprawl that happends so often down their.

They want to change it to Wisconsin State Univ. Personally i'm all for it. i think it will allow for its own prestige and it wont be thrown in with "those other UW schools." its a big school and no longer should be considered second-tier. there was a rally today (thurs) in spaights plaza on the UWM campus and apparently they sold 500+ t-shirts and over 1000 buttons. i know for those people on facebook theres a couple groups started that are pro-name change and i think one or two against it.

a couple links:

http://uwm2wsu.com/

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=413841
I agree totally, I think the UWM has already come into it's own by way of prestige enough to warrant a name change, and most people see that as well. The only thing I would be concerned about is funding. Actually I think the name now is rather lame.

The possible UWM name change stems from nothing more than an inferiority complex.

Blah, blah, blah, hyphens don't make us good enough. Wah, wah, wah, second-class status. Nonsense. It seems to work for places like UCLA or UC Berkeley.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not who you are, but what you do that defines you.

In order to become more recognizable, it's best to actually do something that's recognizable...preferably somewhere in the realm of academia, since we're talking about a place of higher learning. A name change is merely cosmetic.


That being said, if these people insist on changing the name, "Wisconsin State University" is an absolutely horrible choice. It's way too generic, and a WSU could be anywhere (and, as pointed out already, has already been done before). But if the name were to ever be changed, it ought to be required to include the name "Milwaukee" somewhere in the title.

In order to become more recognizable, it's best to actually do something that's recognizable...preferably somewhere in the realm of academia, since we're talking about a place of higher learning. A name change is merely cosmetic.
Truth


It's way too generic
I would say it's just as lame as UW-Milwaukee.
As suggested earlier, University of Milwaukee sounds alright.

i am in full support of University of Milwaukee, but can't stand Wisconsin State. Mainly, because it doesn't tell anyone where it is. I want people to know that the university is in Milwaukee. Wisconsin State sounds like a rural school that focuses on agriculture, not an urban university that has strengths in architecture/urban planning, english, business, etc...

i think branding is very important to a university and i agree the hyphen must go. but please, keep milwaukee in the name. it is good for the City for people around the country to see the name Milwaukee as much as possible, whether it be in articles, on jerseys, etc. Changing it to Wisconsin State would be a diservice to the great City that it is in. It is a university that serves the city, not northern wisconsin (no offense to students that come from there, they are more than welcome), but the research and curriculum focuses on Milwaukee.

Let me throw a different perspective on this one. I just graduated from UWM last year and the changes in the 5 years I went there in terms of school spirit, activities, and national recognition are immeasurable. It’s growing so well thanks in a large part to a very active student government, Nancy Zimpher, Carlos Santiago and their staffs. The changes were also well thought out and pro-active, nothing happened by accident. There is still a long way to go however to get the University up to its full potential. I believe a name change is definitely part of this process.

I really don’t have a huge leaning toward either U of Milwaukee, Wisconsin State, or anything else, but I think getting rid of the UW- is needed. For U of Milwaukee you can say you are identifying with and promoting the city which I am sure many on this forum like. Outside of Milwaukee though people don’t always have the same image that we all see and some see our city and crime-filled and dirty, so maybe Wisconsin State makes sense from a marketing standpoint. I can tell you of friends who have come to visit me and cant believe such a place exists as the East side and Brady street, simply because they always assumed UWM = urban decay. Also something in favor of Wisconsin State is you set up more of a rivalry with schools that contain state names in the area such as MN, MI, IL, and naturally UW. Rivalries and competition are great for colleges and I think that U of Michigan-Michigan State or U of Iowa-Iowa State proves that the two can co-exist. Then again there is a nice ring to Milwaukee Bucks-Milwaukee Brewers- Milwaukee Panthers…

Either way, the reality is that UWM along with every UW school is in Madison’s shadow. It is not an inferiority complex, it’s a fact. All you have to do is sit in a board of regents meeting to see where the dollars get dished out and what projects get priorities, trust me I have. I am not trying to insult Madison, it is a quality school and it takes advantage of solid marketing by calling itself ‘The University of Wisconsin’. However outside of the city/region there are many people who aren’t fully aware that UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison are siblings, they view UW-Milwaukee as an offshoot of UW-Madison. When you change the name to University of Milwaukee or Wisconsin State University, you market yourself better to the state, country, and ultimately international communities.

As far as the cost of changing some signs, they change those every couple of years anyway, while I went to UWM they changed them twice. If they went to WSU maybe it would conflict with Write State in the Horizon, but honestly I believe UWM is looking to move beyond the Horizon in the next 5-10 years anyway. Look what it did for Marquette this last year in terms of national recognition to go to the Big East. And as someone else pointed out I don’t believe funding would decrease, more likely it would greatly increase.

One last thing and I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist at all but I have heard these kinds of things enough to know it is coming from some where. There are people in this state and the UW system who want Madison to be the king of the hill and have no other school approach it. There is a reason why Madison is getting millions upon millions in funding a campus-wide face lift in the next 20 years and it is not all just from Alumni. There are reasons why a full-blown medical and a law school are not at UWM even though this region and city have more than ample need for them. There is a reason why UWM doesn’t have a football team or basic things like a student-run radio station (even Carroll has that!!!). A lot of this stuff is under the surface, but its there. I guess what I am saying is that UWM needs to be active because it is not going to receive any help from the Regents and the UW-system on this one. You are all welcome to agree or disagree, it is just my perspective.

anyone beside me on the brink of swearing off from watching the Milwaukee Bucks for awile--until they at least fire Stotts? Jesus...he is running that team so far into the ground that it could have replaced the scientific team in the movie/book--Journey to the Center of the Earth??!

At least I have the Brewers to calm me down.

^^ i agree and if it's cool with you i'd like to quote some or all of the stuff you said on places like facebook and student websites where more and more poeple, and hopefully the right people can be reached.

anyone beside me on the brink of swearing off from watching the Milwaukee Bucks for awile--until they at least fire Stotts? Jesus...he is running that team so far into the ground that it could have replaced the scientific team in the movie/book--Journey to the Center of the Earth??!

At least I have the Brewers to calm me down.
They had no business firing their last Coach! That's all I got to say about that.

Go Brewers!!!

Hey, they're 4-0 now!!!!

Bush tonight made the Overbay trade look like a very good deal for us.

^^ i agree and if it's cool with you i'd like to quote some or all of the stuff you said on places like facebook and student websites where more and more poeple, and hopefully the right people can be reached.
The problem with useing those arrows to point up is that sometimes the rest of us have no idea which post above is the post you are referring to.

They had no business firing their last Coach! That's all I got to say about that.

Go Brewers!!!

Hey, they're 4-0 now!!!!

Bush tonight made the Overbay trade look like a very good deal for us.

yeah, agreed. The fact is they fired Porter because of the man in my screename and hired Stotts because of him. Stotts is a pushover. Porter had a terrible team last year and the year before..yet he did what he could. If we dont make the playoffs this year---fire Stotts. He is a nice guy, but not what we need for coaching the Bucks. We need a winner with experience. Stop hiring all these no names and expect them to lead us to the promised land.

And the Brewers are very positive this year. My main worrys so far is the offense. This killed the Brewers last year...lack of hitting, poor clutch hitting, and not driving in runs. We need this to stay in games in the upcoming Cards series in StL--which will put this team to the test. Our pitching has been nothing short of very impressive this year.

They had no business firing their last Coach! That's all I got to say about that.

Go Brewers!!!

Hey, they're 4-0 now!!!!

Bush tonight made the Overbay trade look like a very good deal for us.


I was there, what a great game...i had some weird guy chanting "lets go bucky!"....i have no clue why.

I was there, what a great game...i had some weird guy chanting "lets go bucky!"....i have no clue why.
The Badgers are playing for the NCAA Hockey Championship Saturday night at the Bradley center. Where have you been liven lately?

yeah, agreed. The fact is they fired Porter because of the man in my screename and hired Stotts because of him. Stotts is a pushover. Porter had a terrible team last year and the year before..yet he did what he could. If we dont make the playoffs this year---fire Stotts. He is a nice guy, but not what we need for coaching the Bucks. We need a winner with experience. Stop hiring all these no names and expect them to lead us to the promised land.
Actually I thought when they fired Porter they did so because they wanted the Minnesota coach but he was hired on by another team instead. Still, like you said, Porter didn't have much to work with and I thought he should've been given the chance with better players.

By the way...Bucks lost again tonight for the third time in a row...


And the Brewers are very positive this year. My main worrys so far is the offense. This killed the Brewers last year...lack of hitting, poor clutch hitting, and not driving in runs. We need this to stay in games in the upcoming Cards series in StL--which will put this team to the test. Our pitching has been nothing short of very impressive this year.
So far, poor hitting is once again looking to be a problem but I think one of the main reasons why they are 4-0 now is because of clutch hitting and driving in runs when they need them, which is a big positive over last year. Let's just keep our fingers crossed, this is only 4 games after all.

The pitching now and as well as last year has been excellent. Bush tonight gave up 2 hits in 7 innings, granted one of those hits was a homerun but he looked dominating.

As a first post on this board (I've been lurking for almost a year, since I accepted a tenure-track position at UWM), let me chime in on the UWM name-change issue, since one of the attractions of the hyphenated name has not been stated.

The hyphenated name makes most out-of-state academics (like my year-ago self) and other professionals draw comparisons with Illinois-Chicago, Missouri-St. Louis, and even Minnesota-Twins Cities. That is, just by looking at the name one assumes that "Wisconsin-Milwaukee" is the urban research campus of the state university system. Which, as far as I can tell, is exactly what UWM is. "Wisconsin State" suggests an entirely inapt comparison with Iowa State, Illinois State, Indiana State, Michigan State, and the newly-named Missouri State -- none of which is an urban research university and some of which aren't even research universities.

"Milwaukee State" or "University of Milwaukee" would suggest some appropriate comparisons -- with Cleveland State, Wayne State, University of Pittsburgh, University of Cincinnati, and University of Memphis (formerly "Memphis State") -- but there is no reason to prefer that comparison class to the one in which we already figure.

Why shouldn't UWM aspire to play the role in Wisconsin that UIC plays in Illinois? In many academic disciplines, UIC is clearly superior to the unhyphenated "University of Illinois." True, UIC can't hold a candle to UIUC athletically. But so what? That's the urban-research-university niche.

The Badgers are playing for the NCAA Hockey Championship Saturday night at the Bradley center. Where have you been liven lately?

Oh i know this is true, but it was funny that some dude was all excited about it at the brewers game.

some recent Milwaukee photos

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/4894/0408329yr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7632/0408278nv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/1142/0408501in.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

the second best house in the Milwaukee area(that bluish/lavendar one on Lake Drive is the best).

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/4517/0408491ms.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

its view.
http://img321.imageshack.us/img321/912/0408456kr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img321.imageshack.us/img321/4888/0408635jl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img321.imageshack.us/img321/5384/0408188te.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/690/0408792gv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/3720/0408239dy.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/2798/0408245yz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Where is that 3-story house located? My husband and I don't go to the south side very often at all. So, I'm puzzled as to where it is and he couldn't figure it out either.

Where is that 3-story house located? My husband and I don't go to the south side very often at all. So, I'm puzzled as to where it is and he couldn't figure it out either.

I would like to say Shore Dr. in Bayview. Its right past South Shore Park. Its a dead end street that overlooks Lake Michigan...so you shouldnt have to hard a time finding it if you explore the area.

It didn't look like it would be hard to find. We'll have to go down there soon and explore!

Great pictures Redd! Fun to see neighborhood photos instead of the usual downtown cityscape. Thank you!

Great pictures Redd! Fun to see neighborhood photos instead of the usual downtown cityscape. Thank you!

thanks!

thanks!
And I second what they all said. Very nice photos!
Love that 3 story house too!

I also thought the pictures were fantabulous!

Great pictures. I'm new to this site, but have always been a fan of my city. I love looking at new parts of the city, I think milwaukee has some of the best kept secrets in the country in some of its neighborhoods. There is a lot of potential in this city and the 3rd Ward was just the tip of the ice berg.

The best new thing I have seen in the city recently is actually not new at all. Driving along 12th and wells I looked at the demolition of the courthouse annex and the first thing that pops in my mind is how they they ever decided to build the parking structure in the first place. It was blocking one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Its one thing to see it from the east, but driving from the west looking east towards the courthouse with downtown in the background is truly a special and unique site.

Redd, is that Trowbridge School in the background in one of your shots? I have a friend who lives accross the street from that school if that is Trowbridge. It is a very nice and changing neighborhood.

I've updated the construction status section on Emporis (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/cs/?id=101324) for City Green and The Sterling for those of you who are interested.

By Whitney Gould

Recently, when I was hurrying to an interview on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, I found I could shave a few minutes off my walk by cutting through parking lots. There are so many of them, covering virtually every square inch of space behind buildings, that they form a kind of asphalt necklace looping through the 99-acre campus.

The links in this necklace are hardly sparkling jewels, however. They're ugly. They create heat islands in the summer. They speed the runoff of oil, dirt, bird droppings and other pollutants into sewers that are already overburdened. Since the campus sits on a knoll and about two-thirds of it drains north, heavy rains can cause sewer pipes to back up into basements around Edgewood Ave. in Shorewood.

What if some of those problematic parking lots could be turned into green space that soaks up runoff? What if rooftops, too, turned green?

full article http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=414643

What if some of those problematic parking lots could be turned into green space that soaks up runoff? What if rooftops, too, turned green?

UWM group Ecotone is in the process of converting a few spaces around campus into green space. A rain garden is going in at Sabin Hall... the west Union entry will be home to UWM's first green roof... and the two concrete pillars at the corners of Spaights Plaza are going to be used for green roofs as well.

UWM PantherVision just did a story that relates to this topic. You can see the episode air this afternoon at 4:30pm on Time Warner’s Higher Education Cable consortium channel 14.

On another note, Ecotone is purely voluntary and they are always looking for people to help out. Visit their website (http://www.uwm.edu/StudentOrg/ecotone/pages/index.htm) to find out how you can help.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=414865


Maybe Milwaukee will aspire to be for Chicago what Hoboken, NJ is for NYC,
a cheaper, less stressful alternative.

^^ that's a great article.

"However, the increased Illini focus on Milwaukee could have a downside, Jacobs joked.

'I hope all these damn Chicago people don't spoil it,' he said, with a laugh. "

haha... classic.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=414865


Maybe Milwaukee will aspire to be for Chicago what Hoboken, NJ is for NYC..........

i don't see that happening, hoboken is way too solidly within the NYC orbit. the physical proximity creates a different type of relationship. milwaukee is still its own deal, far more seperated and independant from chicago than hoboken is from NYC.

a better analogy for chicago-milwaukee would be NYC-philly.

much better to have a vacation duplex (2/3flat) IMHO,

but a cada quien a lo suyo,
condos are okay but you still have to bicker with other condo peeps at the condo board, there is none of that when you own your own dirt,

i think the chicago-milwaukee connection will be stronger and stronger over the years,
i feel that their relationship as far as distance is concerned is more akin to boston and providence, because those cities are closer than nyc and philly,
boston being the big glitzy city and providence the less fancy, blue collar cousin,

i myself am a chicagoan living among milwaukeeans, its great,
and after im done living here, i will always have a place to stay in the attic or basement of the duplex,


EDIT - huh,
i guess your right oldstyle i just checked the distance and providence is only 50 miles from boston, somehow it seemed a bit further

and newyork city is only 100 miles from philadelphia,
pretty good analogy then, it just seems so far away because you have to cross through one whole state, but its a skinny state

The Business Journal of Milwaukee - 2:58 PM CDT Tuesday

In an effort to spur interest in downtown Milwaukee's Pabst Brewery redevelopment project, Zilber Ltd. shared its $200 million to $300 million conceptual plans Tuesday on a project called The Brewery with more than 150 Milwaukee-area real estate brokers and developers.

The conceptual plans include over 500 residential units and over 700,000 square feet of office and retail.

Milwaukee-based Zilber is hoping other developers and brokers will present ideas on the kinds of businesses that will eventually moved into the 20-acre mixed-use development.

"The more people involved, the more ideas they get and the greater its chances for success," said Sam Dickman Jr., a broker with Milwaukee's Dickman Co. who attended the presentation.

Zilber, a real estate investment and development company that has holdings in more than a dozen states, has an option to purchase what had been known as PabstCity from Wispark L.L.C., the real estate development subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corp., Milwaukee. A Zilber executive said the revised redevelopment plan may call for a city tax incremental financing, or TIF, district worth $25 million to $27 million.

"We expect to close in early summer," said Michael Mervis, a Zilber spokesman.

Wispark and two partners announced plans in 2003 to redevelop the Pabst site in 2003 into a retail, entertainment, housing and office complex. Those plans were dropped in July 2005 when the Milwaukee Common Council rejected a plan to create a $41 million tax incremental financing district.

Zilber announced in November 2005 it had an option to acquire the Pabst site from Wispark for an undisclosed amount. Wispark and its partners bought the Pabst complex in September 2002 for $10.3 million.


Opinions? Do you think the number of condos are appropriate? What about the TIF request?

While the details are still lacking, Zilber's concept is a much better way to approach redeveloping the Pabst brewery site...specifically the part about breaking it up into smaller pieces, letting other developers get involved. That is one way to avoid the autonomous qualities large projects tend to have when they are controlled by a single entity.

The generic "The Brewery" name has got to go, though. "Pabst Hill" has a good ring to it.

Gorman & Company, which has redeveloped a number of old industrial buildings around town into apartments, is jumping into the Pabst action already, with plans for a mix of apartments, office, and retail on one chunk of the brewery complex.

I am excited about it. I think this will have a more positive effect on that part of downtown than that "thug-lure" they were planning.

I guess I am way too optimistic about highspeed rail. I did ride that Amtrak "bullet" train
once, that's probably as close as reality ever gets.

The Sterling (http://www.sterlingcondominiums.com/index.html), a New Land Enterprises, LLP (http://nledevelopment.com/index.html) project, is slowly taking shape on Milwaukee's East Side. They've recently added to the building's facade a horribly disgusting vomit-shaded tile. Contrary to the relatively impressive building renderings with porcelin-white outlined windows and porches, the vomit-shaded tile has been completely plastered across the entire north and west walls and soon, I'm sure, the south and east walls as well. The porches, by the way, look like fences taken from a grade school baseball field.

If I were one of the many (http://www.sterlingcondominiums.com/pricing.html) people who've purchased a condo here, I'd be outraged at the building's lack of character.

Perhaps I'm alone in thinking this is quite possibly the most atrocious new addition to the Milwaukee highrise list... what do you think? Here are some pictures to help you get a better idea as to what I'm talking about.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/1711/10031795ns.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9716/10031806ab.jpg

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9224/10031811nf.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1586/10031828uk.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1734/10031837os.jpg

I feel bad about bad-mouthing Milwaukee in my last post, so here's a nice picture of the skyline to make me feel better. Haha...

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/108/100320619tt.jpg

I agree, MilwaukeeMark. When I was in Milwaukee a couple weekends ago, I went around to update myself on the buildings under construction. I was initially excited about how The Sterling would impact the Farwell streetwall, which has obviously been neglected as Prospect has been host to most of the high-rise condo projects in that area. But after seeing The Sterling in person, I felt it was totally bland, even ugly. The transition from the upper area to the base is horrible. Very disappointing...

Many of New Land's projects are architecturally bland like that, especially the smaller ones. Cathedral Place and Kilbourn Tower are the exceptions, but they were backed up by other developers and good architecture firms.

To their credit though, New Land has been involved with pumping reinvestment dollars into new construction as well as existing buildings all over the East Side and Downtown.

The Journal Sentinel profiled Boris Gokhman, the man behind New Land Enterprises, in an article just a couple weeks ago: An immigrant's towering ambition - Developer assembles an empire in some unlikely urban spaces (http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=412762&date=4/1/2006)

I said some negative things about Milwaukee, too. So here's that panoramic by cubercle we all saw a while ago. But let me say this: You'll have an ugly condo building from time to time. It's not the end of the world. The point is that Milwaukee is moving forward. I'm proud of the progress Milwaukee is making. During most of my childhood and adolescence, Milwaukee was in a state of statis. It excites me so much to see how much it continues to change and grow.

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5168/panoramiccubercle6tj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Perhaps I'm alone in thinking this is quite possibly the most atrocious new addition to the Milwaukee highrise list...


perhaps the most atrocious new addition, i'll give you that but i wouldnt dick on it too much. its not... terrible. just really boring and looks unenthused to be there

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=415156

The Quebecor news was the latest from several employers with significant impact on Milwaukee-area jobs, including: Delphi Corp.'s intentions to close or sell its two plants in Oak Creek, affecting about 1,300 workers; Gehl Co.'s plan to close its farm-equipment factory in West Bend, where about 140 are employed; and Kraft Foods Inc.'s announcement it would shut down its 330-employee pizza production plant in Sussex.



I don't know about you guys but I'm very concerned about all these closings.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=415156

The Quebecor news was the latest from several employers with significant impact on Milwaukee-area jobs, including: Delphi Corp.'s intentions to close or sell its two plants in Oak Creek, affecting about 1,300 workers; Gehl Co.'s plan to close its farm-equipment factory in West Bend, where about 140 are employed; and Kraft Foods Inc.'s announcement it would shut down its 330-employee pizza production plant in Sussex.



I don't know about you guys but I'm very concerned about all these closings.

Its sad, but its the realism that must take place within the bussiness world in order for these companies to stay competitive. In oak creek, a potential replacement of the Delphi land would be woodmans grocery. Jack's pizza for kraft must be doing poorly as of late in order for them to close a plant. Who knows, its demoralizing that they all announce the closures within a short time period (intesifying the news), but other businesses will expand, open, and these workers will find there way back into the working sector.

^^ or atleast lets hope that's how it works out...

Many of New Land's projects are architecturally bland like that, especially the smaller ones. Cathedral Place and Kilbourn Tower are the exceptions, but they were backed up by other developers and good architecture firms.

To their credit though, New Land has been involved with pumping reinvestment dollars into new construction as well as existing buildings all over the East Side and Downtown.

The Journal Sentinel profiled Boris Gokhman, the man behind New Land Enterprises, in an article just a couple weeks ago: An immigrant's towering ambition - Developer assembles an empire in some unlikely urban spaces (http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=412762&date=4/1/2006)

It would be nice if they pumped in some quality construction then. I know of at least 3 places (ours, for one) that are either in litigation or considering litigation for some cheap, horrible construction practices.

I don't think the Sterling is THAT bad. I'm not a fan of the huge blank monolithic wall right above the storefronts, but the tower isn't so bad. Not the greatest work of architecture by any means, but it's understated ... I think it's kinda cool.

When I first heard yesterday that Zilber rolled out these very preliminary, conceptual ideas, it struck me as an act of desperation, almost like Zilber was saying to the development community: "Help! We can't pull this thing off!" I thought that things must not be going very well if they rolled out their plans long before they were ready.

Then Gorman stepped up to the plate and I got a lot more optomistic. This is the way things should have gone all along ... breaking up the collosal site into chunks that different developers who actually know what they're doing redevelop into different uses. It will take longer to redevelop the entire brewery site this way, I'm sure, but in the end we're all going to get something more sustainable, more urban, more like a neighborhood made up of an eclectic mix of uses rather than an "Entertainment Complex" that is hopping one minute but then completely dead when all the suburbanites head back to the parking garage and drive home.

Gorman's part will get the whole brewery site off to a great start. They've claimed the four acres that really lie at the heart of the Brewery complex, with the highest concentration of historic buildings and the most redevelopment potential. Gorman does great work with historic sites. They redeveloped the Kunzelmann Esser building on Mitchell Street. They're redeveloping an old hospital on the West Side. They know how to get it done. And I have great confidence that they will be able to get this one done and give the city a valuable, meaningful redevelopment where Pabst once made beer.

I'm sure the editors of OnMilwaukee.com and other assorted wags around town will balk at what is being brought forward now because the plans are not as "big" and "bold" and all-ecompassing as Pabst City was. But this is a case where the end result will be far greater than any "bold" plan that gets everybody excited and then produces a result that's ho hum. This redevelopment will result in an actual urban neighborhood built in an old 19th century brewery. I find this far, far more exciting for the future of Milwaukee than some BS House of Blues and "high end" retail. So I'm happy.

Its sad, but its the realism that must take place within the bussiness world in order for these companies to stay competitive. In oak creek, a potential replacement of the Delphi land would be woodmans grocery. Jack's pizza for kraft must be doing poorly as of late in order for them to close a plant. Who knows, its demoralizing that they all announce the closures within a short time period (intesifying the news), but other businesses will expand, open, and these workers will find there way back into the working sector.

well, we should all be eating Palermo's instead of Jacks anyway. Support the hometown pizza, not the minneapolis-based pizza.

Hi all... I'm new to the forum. I grew up in Milwaukee, and I've been stuck in Cheyenne, WY for about five years now. I love my hometown, and I've always been fascinated by architecture. I can't wait to move back home someday, but for now, this is the next best thing.

The last time I was in town, I walked around and took in all the new construction. I was just blown away. Every time I go home, there is something new. Milwaukee is really on a roll. Now if we only had light rail....

well, we should all be eating Palermo's instead of Jacks anyway. Support the hometown pizza, not the minneapolis-based pizza.

hah, yeah, palermo's has really made a name for itself in the milwaukee area...They have shown up in sporting events and random sponserships throughout Milwaukee. This could be another factor as to this jack's ordeal.

THANK GOD... its a beautiful day in MILTOWN! wish the brewers were at Miller tonight!......

Pabst:
If the proposals go through, when will the construction take place? will it be able too? The marquette interchange construction is scattered through that whole area...it would be one big mess of construction/renovation

Zilber....I knew that sounded familiar. We have done work in a couple of their properties, including the Riverside Theater building today.

Pabst:
If the proposals go through, when will the construction take place? will it be able too? The marquette interchange construction is scattered through that whole area...it would be one big mess of construction/renovation

Any construction on Pabst is probably a ways off yet (a year or maybe more). They still have to finish planning it, pitch to other investors and financiers, receive government approvals... Once some more of that stuff is set, they'll have a better idea of a project timeline.

The Marquette Interchange construction staging area can be worked around, should the Pabst stuff go through before the interchange is finished. It's big enough where one part of the brewery can be worked on while another area is occupied with the Marquette stuff--just like what was planned with the earlier version of PabstCity.

^Markitect, do you know any good resources for information on the Park East developments (other than the city development site)? I was trying to compile information to get a better idea of what's going on, but came up short.

I was just going through one of the first Milwaukee threads on here and found this pano done by MSPtoMKE on September 28, 2003... oh my has the skyline changed, hey?

Thanks Kilbourn Tower and University Club Tower!

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3230/mamskylinepano1vn.jpg

the skyline looked so difernt back then!

MAM was finally getting a bath today. I hope they don't half ass it, but actually get the place sparkling again.

As I was in O'Donnell park today (lunch break), I couldn't help but think how much the view has changed there in just the last two or three years. You can now see KT, UCT, Cathedral Place, 875? E Wisconsin, 1522 Porspect, some third devleopments, Discovery World, and the Lake Shore State Park. Plus East E Wisonsin Ave is FINALLY being rebuilt. What a disgrace that was for the city. Now if we can just junk the Sunburst sculpture.

A couple photos

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h282/usbmfa/040106014.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h282/usbmfa/031206005.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h282/usbmfa/031206011.jpg

^Is that last image Mandel's new office (along w/ condos)?

^Markitect, do you know any good resources for information on the Park East developments (other than the city development site)? I was trying to compile information to get a better idea of what's going on, but came up short.

DCD's Park East webpage (http://www.mkedcd.org/parkeast) only provides the legal documentation for the overall project, not information about specific proposals. I would suspect that in a few years, after some stuff is built, the website will be updated to with some info and a tour, like the DCD's Beer Line webpage.

Until then, you'll have to do the research on your own. Go back and glean infromation from the newspapers and/or contact the developers of each individually proposed project, find their names, visit their websites, etc.

So what's going down in Milwaukee these days?

So what's going down in Milwaukee these days?

Well, the common council just approved nine towers over 3,000ft. We also decided that Lake Michigan isn't big enough to make huge waves for surfers so we're doubling it's width by sinking the western half of Michigan. And finally, we're changing the name of Milwaukee to "We're better than every other city on the planet." Yes, with a period.

we're changing the name of Milwaukee to "We're better than every other city on the planet." Yes, with a period.
lol......that's kinda' jumpin' the gun a bit, don't you think?

Well, the common council just approved nine towers over 3,000ft. We also decided that Lake Michigan isn't big enough to make huge waves for surfers so we're doubling it's width by sinking the western half of Michigan. And finally, we're changing the name of Milwaukee to "We're better than every other city on the planet." Yes, with a period.
You know what I hate more than anything? When someone insults my intelligence.

You know what I hate more than anything? When someone insults my intelligence.

Oh please, clearly I was joking.

^^It wont be a joke when the boys in black suits knock on your door. ;)

So what's going down in Milwaukee these days?
There's a new aquarium under construction on the water, new 30-ish story proposal downtown, the 30-ish story UCT condos are far into construction, new construction/conversions of condos/offices in third ward, eerie street plaza (featuring bamboo trees with watertraps underneath creating a 'winter-sauna' feel), almost billion dollar interchange (won't complete until 08' though, it's a bitch), wisconson ave. streetscape inprovements, new condo/retail projects where they torn down the park east freeway, new office/condo consturction in Walker's Point (this year's third ward), new construction in beerline b (retail/condos/bluff homes), Columbia St.Mary's hospital expansion is far into construction (with Whole Foods), new Amtrak station, new condo buildings (lots of river action, citygreen, 311...), Kenilworth building (old ford factory, urban outfitters rumored), Federal Building remodel, parking annex demolishion (peace out whale mural), Casino expansion?, US bank sister tower (40-ish story)?, Brady St and beerline-b pedestrian are bridge complete, Milwaukee connecter...

lots o' crap

^^^ It's been fun lately

Now if we can just junk the Sunburst sculpture.

I don't know.. I kind of like how it lines up with the museum. It gives the whole scene an extra layer of depth. It's one of those things that comes to mind when you think of the lakefront. Plus, Calatrava intended for it to line up with his building that way, so I'd say keep it.

^^It wont be a joke when the boys in black suits knock on your door. ;)

The Blues Brothers?

people hate on the Calling too much. Ever read any Whitney Gould chat? Everybody and their mother is bitchin' to her about that thing. I used to think it was goofy too...but after further consideration...I think it looks good where it is.

A couple photos

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h282/usbmfa/040106014.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h282/usbmfa/031206005.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h282/usbmfa/031206011.jpg
Great pics usbmfa, even though the whether makes them look a bit dreary.

I don't know who took this pic but I found on the net and thought it was so good it ought to be shared.

http://www.boomspeed.com/paule17/126411586_4207fbd111_b.jpg

Man, I love aerials!
http://www.boomspeed.com/paule17/125410986_4a42e8ef39_b.jpg

Hey look! Someone finally found a way to capture the entire skyline! haha

closed, go here:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=8033177#post8033177