With the Milwaukee streetcar’s lakefront line currently tied to the fate of the Couture project, construction of which has yet to begin, the city would need to move forward with an alternative plan by the end of this summer in order to meet a critical deadline to begin operations.
Construction of the lakefront line, which would extend the streetcar system nearly another half-mile along Michigan and Clybourn streets toward North Lincoln Memorial Drive, is roughly two-thirds finished. But the work cannot continue until the Couture, a planned 44-story luxury high-rise at the southwestern corner of Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive, moves forward. This is because the project incorporates a transit terminal that would be used by both the streetcar and Milwaukee County’s planned bus rapid-transit system.
Meanwhile, a Federal Transit Administration grant awarded to the city to cover a portion of the lakefront line project requires the line to be operational by the end of 2020.
“At some point, we’ve got to decide is there a Plan B to provide a terminal for this lakefront line that allows us to go into operations and meet our federal deadline,” said Alderman Robert Bauman.
Milwaukee Public Works Commissioner Jeff Polenske told Bauman and other aldermen on the city’s Public Works Committee on Wednesday that while he and others are confident the Couture will move forward in time for the streetcar to meet that deadline, the city has other options.
The first option Polenske mentioned addresses the scenario in which the Couture project moves forward, but wouldn’t be fully finished while the lakefront extension was in operation. There would be a temporary stop on Clybourn Street, with the streetcar having “temporary means” of running through the Couture site while construction progresses.
“So that would allow us to be in operation, but we likely wouldn’t have that full platform built out within the plaza as we would once it’s completed,” he said.
Speaking with reporters after the committee hearing, Polenske added that the path through the Couture construction site would be secure for passengers, since the streetcar loop would not be directly under the high-rise itself.
“There is a way for them to secure that location,” he said.
Bauman suggested city staff do “preliminary investigation” on a Plan B that would have the lakefront line loop around at some other point. The only alternative Bauman could think of would be to have the streetcar run across Lincoln Memorial Drive and turn around in front of Discovery World.
This plan would take the streetcar up to “basically the front door of Discovery World, which is supposedly where we’re wanting to serve anyway,” Bauman said. “The art museum is nearby, the north gate of Summerfest is right nearby. Some would argue that’s actually a better scenario.”
Polenske noted any additional design and planning work on a Plan B “would require additional money for us.” What’s more, in this scenario the city would also have to renegotiate with the federal government over what the grant money would be used for.
The department has also not yet asked the FTA for an extension of its grant deadline, Polenske said, because it’s still confident enough that the Couture project will happen in time. He said it would be a waste of time and money for both the city and federal government to go through an extension process if one isn’t actually needed.
Assuming the Couture project moves forward and the city is able to run the streetcar through that site, work would not need to begin until summer of next year, Polenske said. If the city were to pursue an alternative to the Couture terminal, engineering and planning work would need to begin by mid-to-late summer to meet the federal deadline, he said.
Dan Casanova, economic development specialist lead with the Department of City Development, noted that Rick Barrett, the developer of the Couture project, recently received an extension to submit an application for a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is the second extension HUD has granted Barrett, and now allows him to file the application by July 26.
Casanova added that Barrett is working to secure the final bit of financing on the project. The city is receiving updates from the developer on a weekly basis, Casanova said.
