Hiring consultant OK’d for convention center expansion
In a major push toward expanding Milwaukee’s downtown convention center, the Wisconsin Center District board Friday approved hiring a consultant to oversee pre-construction planning for the proposed $300 million project.
The voice vote was unanimous. “The next step as I see it, is for us to engage an owners rep, who can really take hold of this project to identify a lot of those areas that have to be addressed before we get financing,” Marty Brooks, chief executive officer for the Wisconsin Center District, told the board.
Brooks said the consultant would identify infrastructure requirements to develop the site, create an initial overall project budget and master project schedule, and develop guidelines for hiring contractors, including minority and local firms.
Under a preliminary timeline, Brooks said the board could be asked to vote in early April on financing for the project, with June 15 set as a possible date to issue the bonds. Construction could begin either late next year or in early 2021, Brooks said.
The project to double the size of the facility has picked up momentum in the past year, culminating in the state Legislature providing a “moral obligation pledge” for new debt that the Wisconsin Center District would issue.
“There’s a connection now with the state Legislature and the governor’s office to the project. And that can be helpful moving forward,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a member of the board.