This meeting was held to discuss New Land Enterprises proposed apartment building for the corner of Kenilworth and Farwell.  Although this proposal appeared to have strong support by the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee it was held at the request of Alderman Kovac to allow for this “informational” meeting.  Alderman Kovac explained the purpose for holding this meeting and said that “I wanted to make sure everyone had the chance to see plan, and comment on the plan.”  The turnout for the meeting was somewhat surprising in that fifteen to twenty people were in attendance, many of whom are regulars at East Side development meetings, even though it was an “informational” meeting.

The building will have 20 studio and 70 one-bedroom units ranging in size from 630-850 square feet and costing from $800 to $1400 a month to rent.  Boris Gokhman explained that “the rental market is the best in the past 10 to 15 years,”  and that New Land Enterprises’ rental units are “97% full across the board.”  The construction would begin in late March  and would complete in 12 to 14 months with the hope of renting the building before the summer was over because as Boris Gokhman said “we can’t afford them to be vacant going into winter.”  It won’t include a green roof but will have numerous green features, including an ENERGY STAR white roof, ENERGY STAR appliances, and all materials will be sourced from less than 500 miles.  Scott Kindness added that it will also have indoor bike storage facilities and that they are exploring other green features.  Alderman Kovac explained that the current zoning would allow about 30 residential units which if the developer wished could all have been built as three bedroom apartments.  He was encouraged that project didn’t attempt to stay within zoning because this configuration could of essentially been designed as a “private dorm” much like The Park at 1824 project.

A few residents expressed concern regarding the 7,500 square feet of retail space and at times questioned the practice of putting first floor retail on commercial streets.  They pointed to the fact that the Sterling’s retail space is still empty which prompted Boris Gokhman to respond emphatically stating “I’d love to have it occupied.”  He went on to add that “we pray and hope that one day in Milwaukee retail space will be desirable.”  Scott Kindness explained how this building will complete the intersection and that “now you have a loop of retail, activity on the street.”  Jim Plaisted, East Side BID Executive Director, added that “this is a very attractive corner,” and indicated he believed it would be successful because of the site’s prime location.

The conversation turned to New Land Enterprises’ project on Downer Avenue when a resident spoke out saying all you’ve done is torn stuff down and put restaurants out of business.  Boris Gokhman explained that he had demolished four buildings that were closed for ten years and that previous landlord had let them fall apart.  Then he explained that both Einstein Bagels and The Chancery had decided to close before he bought property.  Further he added that New Land Enterprises offered Einstein Bagels a year of free rent but they turned him down as Einstein Bagels was losing too much money.

He also spoke about the Harry W. Schwartz building’s vacant upper floors saying that “when I came to this country (nineteen years ago) it was already vacant,” and that New Land Enterprise’s had spent $1 million to fix and build out the upper floors for office use.  He went on to explain that you couldn’t rent those office spaces without parking and that New Land Enterprises had spent $6 million on the garage to support the office uses.

Despite the meeting being held to discuss New Land Enterprises’ apartment proposal it was apparent that many of the concerns, issues, and even motives were related to the Downer Avenue project.

Milwaukee should explore how land sales are managed in order to achieve the highest and best use.  If Milwaukee can become better at converting land from public and vacant to private and developed it will only be a benefit to the entire city by building a better urban fabric and raising the city tax base.

Currently land sales in Milwaukee, be it those executed by the state, county, or city, don’t allow for speculation and restrict developer freedom with the current purchase options/request for proposal process.  The process currently in place is designed to protect the interests of the city and to attempt to create a level playing field for developers.  It succeeds, sort of.

The current request for proposal (RFP) process involving publicly-held land works by announcing a request for development proposals, judging the replies, and granting a time-limited purchase option for the land to the winning party.  The system is not without flaws.  Submitting the proposals is burdensome for developers and requires a clear picture for the use of all of the land in the parcel before ownership is even granted.  If a developer wins the option to purchase the land, there is very little control on their execution of the proposal.  The option contracts also are often structured as such that the time component is virtually meaningless as they are frequently extended to avoid having to restart the process.  The final large problem is that the process is slow and does not allow a market to form around the land as it would for private land.

The Changes

Applying more market principles to the RFP process might speed the transition from public and vacant to private and developed for publicly-held parcels.

The first of such adjustments should be to allow speculators into the market.  With the current process, developers are effectively the only parties that can buy parcels with a requirement that a proposal be submitted first.  By regulating the use of land with zoning the desired use can be created flexibly after the sale of the land.  Zoning codes would need to become more detailed to include explicit minimums (and potentially maximums) along with use types to ensure that any development of the land benefits the area around it.

The second of such adjustments should be to make the public land more closely mimic the properties or private property before it is developed.  Currently the RFP process requires land to frequently be bought as a single parcel, with no flexibility to sell portions to others.  Speculators should be able to obtain a contract for a plot of land at auction and have the ability to parcel it out to others to develop.  Parceling of large blocks of land could be done after the contract was obtained, not before as is currently required.

The third adjustment to the RFP process should be to enhance the time-limited option contracts currently created.  Allowing speculators into the market has the danger of creating parcels that remain undeveloped for years, and a safe guard is needed.  To encourage the ultimate goal of getting the land developed, contracts should be granted with yearly fees that grow annually.

A per square foot cost can be assigned to the land, so if a specular wishes to sell or develop a portion of a parcel they may.  When the land is ultimately developed, the portion used should be paid for in full, instead of just the option cost.  However, the amount paid on the option could be applied towards the cost of the land.  This would allow higher option prices to be charged, while further enticing development the longer a parcel is held (coupled with the higher option costs each year).  The price paid on the option will be able to exceed the actual cost of the land, encouraging the land to be developed or to let the contract lapse.

If a contract owner wishes to exit their obligations of the growing annual payments, they can simply sell their contract to another party or notify the land-holding agency that they wish to release their remaining contract options.  This would allow partial development (to corresponding zoning codes) of a parcel, while not forcing other portions to remain undeveloped.  To prevent the building of a structure by a developer and the failure to build any landscaping on small portions of the land remaining (which would then be released back to the government unit undeveloped), the contract would have to stipulate a minimum divided parcel size.

The Intended Effects

How would this change Milwaukee as it is now?  In the past ten years the largest example of the RFP process has been the reclaimed land from the former Park East Freeway spur.  While small border parcels are being infilled, almost all of the land that has come under the ownership of the county has remained undeveloped.  Why?  Simply the lots are too big.

By allowing speculators to buy the land at auction without proposals (but with strict zoning codes) and affording them the flexibility to sell smaller parcels, much of the land may have been developed already. Furthermore, the escalating annual payments would have begun to push developers like RSC & Associates off their block of land, opening it up to the market again.

Developers like Robert Ruvin, who win RFP option contracts, then struggle (or fail) to actually develop the land would be given options to reasonably scale back their projects by using less land (at less cost).

The state of Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will soon begin selling the parcels used during construction of the Marquette Interchange.  Allowing them to use a more market-based approach would allow them to sell options on the land to private interests, begin to see a revenue stream immediately, and have private interests searching for developers.

If you’re questioning the possibly that such a plan allowing subdividing would work, look no further than the former Pabst Brewery.  The Brewery Project stewarded by Joseph Zilber has successfully parceled off buildings that will create an entirely new neighborhood.

New Land Enterprises was before the committee requesting a change in zoning to construct a 5-story apartment building to be located on North Farwell Avenue and East Kenilworth.  Although the current zoning would allow for 33 units New Land Enterprises intends for 91 units to be constructed.  Individual units would range in size from 560 square feet to 850 square feet and would include one parking spot.  It was generally accepted by the committee that this plan for higher density with smaller units would in fact be better for the neighborhood.

New Land Enterprises’ has held three meetings with local stakeholders, including the East Side BID, and faced no opposition at the City Plan Commission.  Jim Plaisted, East Side BID Executive Director, lent his support to the project stating “we feel this is a quality infill development.”

Despite those efforts and overwhelming support by the committee, Alderman Kovac made an unusual move and asked for the file to be held for one cycle.  He stated, “I would like the general residents of the 3rd District to have a chance to see this plan,” and added  that “it’s going to be the policy of the 3rd District going forward” to have public meetings for all development projects.  New Land Enterprises agreed to an “informational meeting” to be held but requested no changes be made to the design due this additional meeting as that would delay the project significantly.  Responding to Alderman Kovac’s request to hold the file, Alderman Witkowiak seemed exasperated as multiple times during the discussion he said “again with all due to respect, I don’t get it.”  Alderman Bauman added that “I don’t want to screw up the financing,” and Alderman Murphy followed up saying that “the worst thing is to have a meeting, and to already know the conclusion of the meeting.”

The committee held the file allowing Alderman Kovac to hold the “informational meeting,” but they clearly indicated that it will be moved forward at the next committee meeting.  Specifically, Alderman Zielinski ended the discussion by stating “when this comes before the committee next cycle we are approving it.”

The Mandel Group’s efforts to construct a new UWM dormitory on the East Side have included five public meetings, the release of basic site plans, and preliminary project renderings.  Jim Shields, lead architect on the project, has an accomplished and diverse resume of buildings from Discovery World to the renovation of Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, and now he is putting his mark on another Milwaukee project.  The plans take into account the site’s unique “edge” location between an urban environment and the river corridor.  The design addresses the urban environment by attempting to break up the massing of the building along North Avenue to give the appearance of multiple buildings that fit the size and scale of other buildings along the street.  Additionally, it addresses the river corridor by stepping the building back, and by creating a natural barrier between the structure and the bluff.

We’ve re-posted the renderings here to make them more widely available.

A new development team, the Milwaukee River Hotel LLC which includes Ed Carow of Wave Development, has taken over development of the $27 million Aloft hotel.  This change in the development team has visibly jump started the project.  Although it hasn’t officially broken ground, in recent days the site has seen the construction fence go up, the surface parking lot removed, and prep work begin. The construction of the five-story building is planned to take about a year, and once complete will include a new Riverwalk section, 160 hotel rooms and 3,200 of square feet of retail.  During construction it should create 125 jobs and once completed it should create about 75 jobs permanent jobs within the hotel and facilities.

This was the third of four meetings being held to discuss Mandel Group’s proposed UWM resident hall that would be located on the former Hometown gas station site.  This meeting was held to discuss traffic, transit and parking issue connected to dorm.  Ken Voigt, Senior Traffic Engineer for Ayres & Associates Inc., gave an extensive overview of the traffic studies being conducted and the potential improvements for the North Avenue and Cambridge Avenue intersection.

The results of the traffic study indicated traffic signals at this intersection would satisfy a four hour warrant justifying the improvement, and would improve pedestrian safety.   It was explained that although one concern with installing traffic signals was that it would encourage Cambridge Avenue to become a “short cut”, the planned timing and the intersection’s offset should stop that from becoming an issue.  The plans also included, enhancing the current gateway island by adding landscaping to make it more aesthetically appealing which will have the side effect of slowing traffic entering the intersection.  Other improvements discussed included count down timers, additional on street parking and the addition of street trees.  Although curb bump outs are often a street improvement used to make an intersection more pedestrian friendly it doesn’t appear likely they will be pursued at this intersection because of its configuration.  Alderman Kovac speaking about the proposed traffic signals said, “it’s not a panacea.  There are advantages and disadvantages”, though he went on to indicate that he felt the traffic signal is a good idea.

The second half of the meeting focused on student transportation options and facilities.  As had been pointed out at previous meetings UWM runs shuttle buses 24 hours a day.  These shuttles currently run at 15 minute intervals during week and 30 minute intervals during nights and weekends allowing students to come and go without personal automobiles.  Scott Peak, UWM Director of University Housing, explained that students are encouraged to not bring a car to campus and that student parking is prioritized based on need.  The number of cars per beds proposed for this dorm is essentially the same as the RiverView dorm, though there will be an addition 27 parking spots for faculty, staff, visitors, and retail business owners.  To facilitate the retail business located in the first floor of the dorm and possible visitors an additional 21 on street parking spaces will be added by widening a portion of Cambridge Avenue.

There were a few questions regarding the new traffic including, if there would be sensors in the street, what else would they do to make it safer for pedestrians, would the light flash at night, and general concerns over a change in traffic flow throughout the neighborhood.  Specifically one resident was concerned about the addition of the new traffic and how that would impact the neighborhoods further from the dorm’s location, but judging from the turnout and level of discourse the concerns proposed at the meeting were minor and items that Mandel Group could address.  In fact opposition seemed so light that when a show of hands was taken to see if there were residents living on Cambridge Avenue in attendance, no one raised a hand.

A regional transit authority with a dedicated funding source is the solution to the Milwaukee regional transit woes. The use of an authority represents the most efficient and reliable way to deliver a service to a region. A dedicated and reliable funding source is essential to empowering an authority to deliver the services for which it is tasked. While Milwaukee’s freeway system was designed and built to serve the region, the Milwaukee region’s multiple transit systems stop and start at invisible lines. The various transit systems have different fares, operating hours, vehicles, and branding. As they are now, the systems simply aren’t designed to work together to ensure a high quality of service to the region.

The end result of the patchwork quilt that is the Milwaukee region’s current transit systems is not pretty, nor productive. Constant budget battles for funding result in rising fares, reduced and or eliminated routes, varying service frequency, and antiquated equipment. At the same time, system operators are left without a budget to move riders across invisible lines that separate them from jobs.

The Milwaukee County Transit System is a prime example of the pitfalls of our current system of transit governance. In 2001, shortly before Scott Walker took office there was nearly $37 million available that Milwaukee County had received from the federal government for capital improvements to the transit system. Because the transit system, though a publicly-supported private company, is funded locally via property tax revenue it competes for funds against nearly all other county services. It is subject to yearly budget battles. The end result is a bitter fight between the Milwaukee County Board and the Milwaukee County Executive. This fight results in cuts and reductions in service across the board, not only for transit, but every service the county pays to provide. The federal funds earmarked for capital improvements (replacing old buses) have been used repeatedly for operating expenses to the point where they are nearly gone. The capital funds have been used to reduce the level of service cuts and reductions to the transit system, but at a great expense. A situation has been created where old and obsolete buses are being kept running well-past their expected lifetime. This has resulted in maintenance costs climbing at an ever increasing rate. Therefore, operating costs are now higher, and there isn’t money to pay for new buses to lower them.

The end result? The coming Milwaukee County transit funding crisis that has been studied extensively by the non-partisan Public Policy Forum.

What is a solution to this funding problem? A dedicated funding source deposited into a lock box account for a single use. A regional transit authority supported by a half-percent maximum sales tax varying by county service needs would accomplish this. A well-planned and budgeted sales tax could also create and support regional transportation initiatives that allow residents and visitors to easily move throughout the region. A move to a sales tax should not be viewed as a significant tax increase, instead using a sales tax should be seen as a logical tax transfer.

Sales taxes have a significant benefit to residents over property taxes, they’re paid by non-residents. Property taxes are paid by residents, either directly as a property owner-occupant or indirectly by renters as they are passed on by landlords. Sales taxes are paid by consumers. Consumers that come to the Milwaukee region for work or entertainment. This includes events at Miller Park and the Bradley Center frequented by out of region residents, and anything purchased at General Mitchell Airport by travelers. Furthermore, thanks in large part to Wisconsin’s progressive history, sales taxes are not levied upon unprepared food purchases at grocery stores. Using a sales tax creates a dependable revenue source to pay for existing transit service and new regional initiatives. A property to sales tax conversion would also allow a reduction to occur with property taxes, varying by the costs of the existing transit systems.

A regional transit authority with a dependable and dedicated funding source offers the best chance to move both the City of Milwaukee and the greater Milwaukee region forward. A dependable funding source will ensure reliable service that is largely free of yearly fare increases and route cuts. Furthermore, a regional transit authority will be able to operate similar to a utility provider, free to concentrate on providing one service, transit. This would be much unlike Milwaukee’s current systems which are political footballs subject to the whims of elected officials. Implementing a regional transit authority will provide the framework for future transit infrastructure improvements, including the potential use of the $91.5 million already allocated to Milwaukee by the federal government. A future with a regional transit authority is a future where people in the Milwaukee region can move within the region with ease utilizing a high quality transit system.

This was the second of four neighborhood meetings to discuss the proposed UWM resident hall. UWM has been working to increase the number of beds available in a large part because 90% of the students that apply to UWM request student housing and most are turned down. This ability to provide housing for students is important because the retention rate of students living in resident halls is 15% higher than those living off campus. Further, Tom Luljak, Vice Chancellor of University Relations and Communications, explained that another goal is to move students from living in the neighborhood, to students living in student housing. He pointed to the opening of the RiverView resident hall as example of success as their research indicates there are now 300 fewer students living in the neighborhood than there was prior to the opening.

UWM brought a large contingent of staff, UWM Police officers, student C.O.A.S.T. workers, and S.A.F.E. walkers to inform the neighborhood residents of how they handle safety and security issues. They emphasized that UWM resident halls are a controlled environment, that provide an opportunity for students to succeed. Additionally, for safety and security reasons these resident halls include someone working the front desk 24 hours a day, and require guest passes for non-residents to access the building.

Michael Marzion, UWM Assistant Chief of Police, spoke about how the UWM Police Department finds creative ways to solve problems and uses student issues as teachable moments. For example instead of issuing tickets they might give assignments as a way to improve behavior and give students a second chance. Additionally, he pointed out that they have recently increased the patrols in the neighborhood to insure safety and good behavior.

Two students from UWM’s S.A.F.E. walker program spoke about their efforts to help improve safety in the neighborhood. This program consists of 25 students who work primarily from 10 PM to 2 AM six days a week to provide security, medical care, and act as trained observers. Additionally, they explained that when the new resident hall opens it will be expanded to include North Avenue.

Only a handful of residents were in attendance, but the one concern that was brought up revolved around student parking. The owner of Judges (located across the street from the Hometown site) was somewhat concerned that the students would have enough parking so they wouldn’t park on the bridge impacting his customer’s parking. His concerns appeared to be addressed by the plan and previous experience with the RiverView dorm because as he said, “you wouldn’t even know that RiverView was open.”

The continued decline in public attendance at these meetings is a telling sign that UWM has put forth significant effort to inform the community on all aspects of this project.

Bob Monnat, the chief operating officer of Mandel Group, gave an overview of how the public meeting process will work and a presentation covering the environmental aspects of the project. He explained that the point of have these meetings take place within the recently built dorms, was so that residents could get a feel for the type of atmosphere and quality that is to be expected. Additionally he pointed out that in an effort to make this as open a process as possible the materials from each meeting will be posted on the Mandel Group website.

A brief history of the site was laid out to give perspective as to the need for redevelopment of this location. The site has had many uses over time including, a roller rink, an ice harvesting site, a truck storage and repair facility, and a gas station. The most recent uses created environmental issues that were worsened by the site being covered by a 100% impervious surface. This impervious surface resulted in a significant amount of stormwater runoff carrying toxins and chemical from the former uses directly into the river. The proposed dorm design plans to convert the site from 100% impervious to 91% pervious which will dramatically reduce the stormwater runoff from this site and improve water quality.

The green initiatives for the project stemmed from the need to remediate the site and UWM’s requirement for green features as part of the new dorm. Jim Shields, the lead architect from HGA, gave an overview regarding the greenspace and planting of the site. He explained that all the trees would remain just as they are now and that there would be no clear cutting on the site. Additionally he pointed out, that they are going to plant the greenspace with native trees, that the site would include rain gardens, a grass field for soccer or frisbee, greenroofs on the two wings, and the main building’s roof will collect rain water in a cistern to use for watering the grass. He added that a high density development is needed to qualify as a sustainable urban development and to receive the LEED certification they are looking to obtain. Bob Monnat added that “there is very little benefit of building a LEED certified building out in the middle of a cornfield that, where everyone has to drive to,” indicating that you lose the environmental savings that you have created when you force everyone to drive.

In addition to the numerous green features the proposed building will follow standard urban design guidelines. Specifically it will be located on the property line, it will have first floor retail, and underground parking. The project will also include the building of a public access stairway and ramp to allow access to the river from the site.

Although the stated goal of the meeting was to discuss the green features of the project there were a handful of questions on other topics. While a few residents asked about the students moving through the neighborhoods, trash issues, parking, and traffic, the most vocal opposition came when a resident interrupted saying “I don’t want to hear anymore about the building.” There were also questions from residents regarding what will happen during the winter as the trees shed their leaves but as Jim Shields explained “according to the Milwaukee River Workgroup our building was adequately concealed.” If turnout was any indication, this meeting showed just how far UWM has come in working with the neighborhood as opposition to the project was clearly considerably lower.

Urban Milwaukee is launching a new series spotlighting new, urban businesses in Milwaukee. We believe urban small businesses, especially those in mixed-use buildings, are what help build the fabric of a great city.

Blatz Market & Liquor Depot, located in the former Blatz brewery on Broadway, isn’t your regular liquor store. Owner Joe Woelfle, a resident of the Blatz Condominiums himself, didn’t set out to create a high-volume store to compete with the nearby Metro Market liquor store. Instead Woelfle worked with his distributor, Beer Capitol Distributing Inc, to create a product assortment that was unique from other stores in the area. The end result is a selection of almost 130 different types of beer, 130 unique wines largely in the $9-$15 a bottle range, and a spirits section that covers your needs. The product mix will allow Blatz Liquor to cover all the needs of Blatz residents, office tenants, and future residents of the Residences on Water, while also offering a unique collection of beers and wines to draw customers in from further away.

While I am far from qualified to discuss the wine selection (which appeared to have a great enough variety to keep you occupied for years trying different brands), the selection of beer was exciting. Blatz Market & Liquor Depot has your standard Miller and Bud brands, but the selection of micro and craft brews puts other liquor stores to shame.

You’re able to find the entire Lakefront Brewery catalog. But if you define local to mean beers from all over Wisconsin, and not just Milwaukee, you’re covered. Beers from Capital Brewery, Rush River Brewing Company, Ale Asylum, and Furthermore Brewery fill an entire rack. Not surprisingly, Blatz Market & Liquor Depot does carry its namesake product, Blatz beer, in both cans and bottles (to which we were surprised to learn still even comes in bottles). Milwaukee’s other famous products, Pabst and Schlitz, are both well stocked as well. The real differentiator between the new store and other neighborhood stores when it comes to beer though is that all beers are sold cold at Blatz Market & Liquor Depot.

The physical location itself delivers a unique shopping experience. Located on Broadway inside of the former Blatz brewery, the walls still show signs of the massive amount of beer production that took place in the building. Instead of hiding the darkened cream city brick behind drywall, as is too often done, Woelfle chose to leave it exposed ensuring customers of an experience not too be found in suburban strip malls. The store is largely free from the images of MillerCoors and Anheuscher-Busch products that plague the shopping experience at other stores. This leaves customers free to concentrate on the product they want, instead of the product they’re being sold. Shopping at Blatz Market & Liquor Depot is a pleasure.

Owner Joe Woelfle is not a first time entrepreneur. Last October he purchased Chicago Avenue Liquor in South Milwaukee, a store he describes as “the neighborhood liquor store.” The product mix there he describes to be quite different from his new location in the Blatz building, with the majority of sales coming from household names such as Miller and Fleischmann’s.

Woelfle’s experience might have helped sway residents of the Blatz to support his opening a liquor store. He said there were only a few residents concerned with his store’s opening.

One challenge that has presented itself in the development of a retail establishment in a converted brewery is street-side signage. Woelfle agreed not to place the word “liquor” in bold lettering right outside his door on Broadway, something that would be sure to anger condo owners. He’s currently considering his options, but sounded likely to settle on a sign that resembled the classy Blatz signs affixed on the corners of the building.

Blatz Market & Liquor Depot will be an asset to the neighborhood. Joe Woelfle appears to have wisely chosen his product selection to avoid the pitfalls of nearby stores that have failed (the wine only, on the corner of Van Buren and Ogden). The store is stocked with mass-marketed products that appeal to the masses, and a healthy variety of hard-to-find beers and wines that are sure to draw in customers that live far closer to other liquor stores. The attention to quality should make the store a long-term asset to Blatz Condominiums residents.

You can follow the comings and goings of Blatz Market & Liquor Depot on the Blatz Cave blog. Stay tuned to the blog as monthly wine tastings are planned to run on Thursday’s to accommodate the Jazz in the Park crowd.