While construction for
The Couture is finally
nearing completion, nearly 12 years after plans for the 46-story luxury apartment tower near the downtown Milwaukee lakefront were first unveiled, longstanding plans to connect the building with pedestrian bridges to the north and east are not yet moving forward.
"There are no construction plans for this as of now," said Tiffany Shepherd, a spokesperson for the city's Department of Public Works.
Plans for The Couture have long included a pedestrian bridge to the north over Michigan Street connecting with Museum Center Park (formerly known as O'Donnell Park) and a pedestrian bridge to the east over busy Lincoln Memorial Drive and connecting with the proposed
Lakefront Gateway Plaza.
Lakefront Gateway Plaza is planned for the area east of Lincoln Memorial Drive between Michigan Street and Clybourn Street. In 2014, the city issued a request for qualifications seeking design proposals for the space. In 2015, designs for Lakefront Gateway Plaza done by a team led by Milwaukee-based civil engineering firm
GRAEF were selected for the project.
The plans for Lakefront Gateway Plaza have not moved forward and because of its connection to The Couture, were held back by years of delays to The Couture project. But while construction of The Couture is expected to finally be compete this summer the Lakefront Gateway Plaza project, and the pedestrian bridge that would connect it to The Couture remains in limbo.
"Lakefront Gateway Plaza and the associated pedestrian bridges are consistent with the city’s vision to provide connectivity between downtown and the lakefront, safe multimodal experiences, and world-class environments for residents and visitors," said Department of City Development spokesperson Madison Goldbeck. "The city is seeking funding to complete those portions of the Lakefront Gateway Project."
The broader Lakefront Gateway Project includes the Lakefront Gateway Plaza, nearby road and pedestrian improvements and the development of a vacant site south of The Couture at 815 E. Clybourn St.
The GRAEF-led Lakefront Gateway Plaza team includes Milwaukee-based architecture firm
Rinka, which is also the design firm for The Couture. Rinka founder and partner
Matt Rinka said he is hopeful that the pedestrian bridges will be built because they are an important part of the design vision for The Couture. The pedestrian bridges were designed to help provide access to the
retail space, public park and
transit concourse at The Couture.
"To see The Couture function as it is designed to function obviously the bridges and the Lakefront Gateway Plaza is a really key part of that," Rinka said. "Without the bridges (The Couture is) not going to function as it's designed to currently. For it to truly function 100 percent the way it's designed to, the bridges are really key to that."
The Couture and the pedestrian bridges were also designed to improve the pedestrian connection between downtown and the lakefront, Rinka said, which is hampered by downtown's higher elevation than the lakefront and the size and traffic volume of Lincoln Memorial Drive.
"The vision for (The Couture) as a part of this connectivity on the lakefront is certainly a major piece," Rinka said. "It's meant to function as the connector. It's meant to function as part of the experience of the lakefront and getting people from downtown to our amenities on the lake. It's certainly an extremely important part of seeing the vision play out. (The pedestrian bridges are) an important detail. It really is integral to how people are going to access the lakefront, how people are going to access the museums and the Summerfest grounds."
Rick Barrett, the founder and chief executive officer of
Barrett Lo Visionary Development and the developer of The Couture, said the building is ready to connect with pedestrian bridges to the north, east and south, once the city is prepared to build them.
"We have three connection points to get this building to breathe people in like a lung," Barrett said.
Other than the statement from Goldbeck, officials within DCD declined to comment on the status of The Couture's pedestrian bridges.
"I'm not questioning DCD," Rinka said. "If they had the funds it would certainly be on the top of their list. I've spoken to people at DCD and they're as passionate as we are about seeing the entire vision for the lakefront through. As with anything, funding is always one of the most difficult challenges. I do have a lot of faith in the city and DCD to figure out the funding. I know they want it just as much as we do."
Ald. Robert Bauman, who represents the downtown area, said the question of whether the city can afford to construct the pedestrian bridges and Lakefront Gateway Plaza will depend on how much economic development is generated by The Couture as well as any redevelopment opportunities that emerge from a possible removal of the I-794 freeway spur between downtown and the Third Ward. The development and increased property values will be needed to create enough tax incremental financing that could pay for the pedestrian bridges and Lakefront Gateway Plaza, he said.
“It’ll depend on what’s done with the freeway, and how much additional development opportunities can be created, what kind of tax base they can create, what ability we’ll have to use tax incremental financing,” he said. “Those are expensive projects, and the funding source would almost certainly be tax incremental financing. You need the development to make that happen.”
Bublr Bikes docking station planned for The Couture
Meanwhile, a
Bublr Bikes docking station is still planned for The Couture's transit concourse.
"There will be a Bublr Bike station installed in the concourse at The Couture," Goldbeck said. "Bublr representatives and the developer are working towards that installation."
BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Cara Spoto contributed to this report.
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