The Bronzeville Center for the Arts’ offer to buy the former Department of Natural Resources building on Milwaukee’s north side received final approval Tuesday, paving the way for the planned cultural center to move forward.
The state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance on Tuesday approved the sale of the building, at 2312 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, for $1.6 million. The facility formerly was the DNR’s southeast regional headquarters until the department moved its operations last summer.
The nonprofit BCA group announced plans earlier this month to develop an arts and cultural center on the 3.2-acre site. An anonymous donor provided the funds for the organization to acquire the property.
BCA’s plans for the 50,000-square-foot center include an auditorium, exhibition space and outdoor sculpture garden. It would provide cultural resources relating to African American art, culture and history in Wisconsin, and Milwaukee’s Bronzeville district in particular.
“The Bronzeville Center for the Arts has now received the necessary approvals to move forward with the purchase and transformation of this prime piece of real estate in the heart of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville District,” said Kristen Hardy, president of the BCA board, in a statement Tuesday.
The JFC’s approval will “initiate BCA’s thorough and intentional planning process including critical community conversations as we develop project and programming plans,” Hardy added.
The sale of the former DNR building is part of a larger effort by the Department of Administration to consolidate state-owned facilities and leased space. The state listed the property for sale in October and later received five offers, including BCA’s, to purchase it.
“This is the first sale of its kind in four years, and we look forward to the impact that BCA will bring to Milwaukee residents and visitors,” said Kathy Blumenfeld, secretary-designee of the DOA. “Our goal is to continue to create a more sustainable, efficient, and modern government positioned to best serve the state of Wisconsin and Wisconsin taxpayers.”
