Bolstering beauty
Design Awards salute hotels, breweries, playgrounds
In this year’s installment of his annual design awards, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett found hotel and factory projects to praise for their visual and financial investment in the city.
But the mayor and his spotters also offer kudos to park and playground makeovers that improve quality of life for little Milwaukeeans.
Twenty Milwaukee projects will be honored during the annual Mayor’s Design Awards ceremony Thursday at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The projects are located in 12 different aldermanic districts.
Spaces and Places honorees, recognized for making neighborhood streets and public spaces more attractive and engaging, include the Garden Homes Revitalization Project, 2600 W. Atkinson Ave.; the Standing Rock Buffalo Topiaries at 6th St. and Waterford Ave. and other locations, a joint effort by the Native American Awareness Project and Milwaukee Public Theatre; Marcus DeBack Playground, 2461 N. 55th St.; and Hartung Park, N. 99th St. and W. Townsend Ave.
Test of Time honorees, recognized for restorations that both enhance and reinforce neighborhood character: Journey House Campus Housing, 2033 W. Scott St., a run-down, foreclosed building renovated into housing for youths who have aged out of foster care; Historic Wally Schmidt Redevelopment/Tandem Restaurant, 1850 W. Fond du Lac Ave., a 120-year-old tavern transformed into an office building with an anchor restaurant; 213 Broadway, a former warehouse converted into a mixed-use building; Eleven25 at Pabst, 1125 N. 9th St., the conversion of a former bottling building into apartments for downtown college students; and SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 744 N. 4th St.
Live.Work.Play honorees, saluted for “sensitively integrating different land uses within their neighborhoods”: King Lofts Bay View, 2534 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.; 1900 W. Morgan,a former vacant building transformed into a private residence and commercial space; Milwaukee TechForce Training Center, 1916 N. 4th St.; Black Husky Brewing, 909 E. Locust St.; and Mobcraft Beer Brewery & Taproom, 505 S. 5th St.
Design That Grabs You honorees, saluted for design excellence that respects urban surroundings: Sendik’s Food Market corporate offices, 7225 W. Marcia Road; 644 S. 5th St., a retail and office space project that fits the pedestrian-friendly emphasis of the 5th St. redesign; Traction Factory, 247 S. Water St.; Zurn Industries, 511 W. Freshwater Way; Kimpton Journeyman Hotel, 310 E. Chicago St.; and 833 East, 833 E. Michigan St., an 18-story office high rise.