Menomonee Valley seeks next redevelopment wave
Nearly 20 years ago, a design workshop created ideas that eventually became realities in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley — such as industrial buildings, other commercial developments and parks.
Now, a similar effort is working on what could spark the next big wave of valley redevelopment projects, including light industrial and office space, restaurants, shops, a craft brewery and a RiverWalk.
“There’s a myth out there that somehow the valley is finished, and we can move on,” said City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux.
While the valley has strong anchors, he said, developers and others must “finish the job.”
Marcoux spoke at a Wednesday design workshop for creating conceptual ideas at six key valley sites.
Known as a charrette, the workshop gathered architects, developers, valley property owners, city officials and others who spent the day working in small groups on each site.
“We really hope to get a vision for what these undeveloped properties could be, and to build momentum for moving forward to development,” said Corey Zetts, executive director at Menomonee Valley Partners Inc., a nonprofit group that leads valley redevelopment efforts.
Most of the targeted sites have major challenges, she said, including no direct access to streets, a lack of water mains and sewers, or difficult soil conditions that require expensive pilings before construction can occur.
However, the charrette, held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning, also helps showcase the sites’ potential and create ideas “to offset those challenges,” Zetts said.
That’s an important part of attracting private investment — which spurred the first wave of valley redevelopment after initial public spending.
“The private sector has really made this happen,” Marcoux said.
The valley’s initial redevelopment was helped by a 1999 design charrette.
Its ideas included a mix of commercial developments, including light industrial and office space, improved transportation links, and a focus on making the valley more walkable and creating public spaces that would tie to the then-emerging Hank Aaron State Trail.
Nearly 20 years later, the valley’s biggest
“We really hope to get a vision for what these undeveloped properties could be, and to build momentum for moving forward to development.” Corey Zetts Executive director at Menomonee Valley Partners Inc.
developments include the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center, a business park east of Miller Park that includes Palermo Villa, Rishi Tea, Ingeteam and Charter Wire.
The city has spent $24 million since 2003 to create the business park, which houses companies with more than 1,400 employees.
The city developed the business park by buying and demolishing a former railroad shop facility, doing an environmental cleanup, and building roads and other public improvements. The property taxes from the new businesses are paying back the city’s investments.
Other valley developments include Potawatomi Hotel and Casino, which is now adding a 19-story, 119-room tower; the Harley-Davidson Museum, which opened in 2008; Three Bridges Park; and two new craft breweries: Third Space and City Lights.
It amounts to $1 billion in private investment, 5,200 new jobs and 10 million annual visitors to the casino, Miller Park, the museum and other attractions, according to Menomonee Valley Partners.
So, the next wave, which some call Valley 2.0, is “not starting from scratch,” said Carolyn Esswein, director of UWM’s Community Design Solutions center, which organized the charrette. “But we do have some gaps,” she said. The charrette, which builds on the city’s updated valley plan, focused on the following sites:
W. St. Paul Ave., between N. 5th and N. 27th streets
That strip includes a new home decor district that Menomonee Valley Partners is promoting with such businesses as Brass Light Gallery, BBC Lighting, River View Antiques and the new Guardian Fine Art Services.
The charrette team that focused on the site, led by Quorum Architects, envisioned such changes as a spiral ramp connecting St. Paul Ave. to the 16th St. viaduct, providing access to people biking as well as walking.
Other suggested improvements included a public park beneath the Marquette Interchange.
1601-2001 W. Mount Vernon Ave.
That 12.5-acre site is west of the 16th St. viaduct and east of the City Lights complex, the redeveloping former Milwaukee Gas Light Co. buildings that include Zimmerman Architectural Studios Inc.’s offices.
Zimmerman’s ideas featured a park in the middle of the site, along with a food production facility and other light industrial space.
The site also could include a child care center.
A 15-acre site between W. Mount Vernon Ave. and the Menomonee River, with I-43 crossing above it.
That area, which is east of Standard Electric Supply Co.’s newly expanded facility, could feature buildings for making items with retail space to sell them, according to HGA Architects.
A “food hub” business incubator that includes retail space could be near the site’s eastern end overlooking the Menomonee River, with boat slips.
St. Mary’s Cement, 712 W. Canal St.
The 5-acre site is just a block west of the Harley-Davidson Museum and could be considered a gateway to the valley.
Engberg Anderson Architects envisioned an amphitheater overlooking the Menomonee River, additions to the site’s cement silos that could be used as hotel or office space, and a public courtyard in the middle of the parcel.
The site also could have a parking lot at its western end.
Space around and behind the We Energies power plant, 1035 W. Canal St.
That 24-acre site includes the former coal pile site, now available because of the plant’s conversion to natural gas, and land at 841 W. Canal St., which We Energies bought in 2015 from former Allen Edmonds Shoe Corp. owner John Stollenwerk.
A brewery could be developed overlooking the Menomonee River Canal on the site’s eastern portion, according to Korb & Associates. Lakefront Brewery Inc. considered developing a brewery there before instead buying an expansion site next to its N. Commerce St. facility, north of downtown.
The We Energies site’s western portion could include office and manufacturing space.
199 N. 25th St.
The 2.5-acre site includes a garage leased by the city for a Department of Public Works operation.
That 18,000-square-foot building could be converted into a restaurant, and space for making and selling food items, according to Uihlein/Wilson – Ramlow/Stein Architects.
The site also could feature a restored wetlands.
“We can see what the potential is for all these sites,” Zetts said. “That’s exciting.”