A $300 million plan was unveiled today to develop the former Pabst Brewery site in downtown Milwaukee. Wispark, LLC and Ferchill Group are the developers of the proposal. The Pabst site was brought to the Ferchill Group's chairman John Ferchill's attention last year by Milwaukee Bucks basketball coach George Karl. Karl announced plans in 2000 for a youth basketball center in Milwaukee and pointed to the Pabst site as a viable location.
There are a lot of plans floating around in addition to the Pabst City plan. Some of the most notable projects In the downtown area include:
It's a rather ambitious plan, and it would be wonderful to see it come to fruition. However, once again, the question is financing. Is the market there for all of these deveopments? Proponents like myself would say that residential development drives commercial development, and there's certainly been plenty of residential growth downtown recently. The real estate market has remained strong despite the sluggish economy. Most of the developments downtown to this point have been residential. Now with the Cathedral Square, 875 E Wisconsin, and the Pabst City developments (not to mention the commercial lots coming available with the demolition of the park east freeway), one has to wonder who's going to be funding and occupying the new commercial renaissance in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee isn't unique. We're actually a few years behind other cities in redisovering our downtown. I think that partially explains the resistance to ambitious plans like the Park East freeway demolition. Even automobile-worshipping Detroit, Michigan has built a new baseball stadium in the heart of its city center.
Perhaps we're just in the early stages of recovering from forty years of suburban sprawl which have given us ugly office buildings on freeway off ramps built in a sea of concrete parking lots. Those of us who prefer the urban design certainly hope so.
posted by Scott @ 12:33 AM
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