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| | | | This will be a virtual meeting conducted via GoToMeeting. Should you wish to join this meeting from your phone, tablet, or computer you may go to https://meet.goto.com/659096421. You can also dial in using your phone United States: +1 (408) 650-3123 and Access Code: 659-096-421. | | | |
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| | 1. | | Call to order.
Minutes note: The meeting was called to order at 9:08 a.m. | | | |
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| | | | Also present:
Minutes note: Ald. Milele Coggs, 6th Ald. Dist.
Kari Smith, DCD Real Estate
David Tapia, DPW Infrastructure
Kyle Gast, DCD Planning | | | |
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| | 3. | | Review and approval of the previous meeting minutes from January 26, 2026.
Minutes note: Meeting minutes from January 26, 2026 were approved without objection. | | | |
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| | 4. | | Bronzeville RFPs, listings, projects, programs, initiatives, events, grants, activities, plans, or other aspects for update, discussion, presentation, review, motion, recommendation, and/or approval.
Minutes note: a. 1703 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. revised development project.
Development team appearing:
Kevin Rogers, Korb Architects
Sarah Colacino, Korb Architects
Sharon Grinker, Sid Grinker Restoration
Mike Grinker, Sid Grinker Restoration
Mr. and Mrs. Grinker and Ms. Colacino presented.
The Grinkers owned several properties within Bronzeville where their family business, Sid Grinker Restoration, was located. They were the principals of It Had To Be You, LLC. They had made several improvements over the last nine to ten years at their properties primarily along Walnut Street between Vel R. Phillips Ave. and Dr. William Finlayson Street. Their offices had relocated to 1719 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. from 416 W. Walnut St., where a new addition was added in 2017 and Pilcrow Coffee was a tenant. They had acquired, in 2017, and renovated the former Dillon Binder building at 424 W. Walnut St., where RetailWorks was located. They had also completed green infrastructure projects in partnership with MMSD regarding onsite stormwater management onsite, creation of wildlife habitat, and neighborhood beautification at 1724-26 N. 5th St.
Since coming before the committee previously, they had made revisions to their development project plans at 1703 N. Vel R. Philips Ave. The new proposed development would be for a newly constructed 3-story office building with activated street level office. The existing building would be demolished. There would be one tenant each floor with approximate unit size of 2,500 sq. ft. Green building features, most notably the mass timber hybrid structure, would be maximized. The street level would be for office or retail. There would be glazing at the south and east sides for transparency. The façade would consist of metal panels and brick, which were similar materials to buildings within the neighborhood.
The anticipated timeline would include completing permitting and design this spring, acquiring construction bids and securing financing this summer, and starting construction in quarter 3 this year. Their parking analysis showed that 14 parking spaces were required. They would have 4 on-street parking spots (3 on Vel R. Phillips Ave. and 1 on Walnut St.) and multiple parking options at their neighboring properties that they owned (lot at corner of 5th and Walnut and new lot at 1726 N. 5th St.).
Vice-chair Hill said that the new plans and design was aesthetically better than the original and inquired about potential tenants.
Chair Vernon asked what was being requested from the committee.
Mrs. Grinker replied. Tenants were to be determined still for all spaces by the time of completion of the project. Floors 2 and 3 would be for office use. The first floor could be for either retail or office use. They wanted to provide an update to the committee regarding the revised development plans.
b. DPW Infrastructure 6th Street Redesign Project update.
Mr. Tapia gave an update. He ran the major projects at the Department of Public Works overseeing City projects utilizing state and/or federal funding. The 6th Street Project was a $36.5 million federally grant funded project awarded in late 2024 for 6th St. from National Ave. to North Ave. A design consultant firm was acquired in early 2025 for phase 1 to work through preliminary design, produce an environmental document, and identify alternatives. Phases 2 and 3 would have entailed final design and construction, respectively. Unfortunately, all unencumbered funds (a little over $34 million) for phases 2 and 3 were rescinded by the current federal administration. They were only able to achieve an environmental document with locally preferred alternatives that could be approved; however, no real project could occur.
They were planning to have a public information session on April 14th from 4 pm to 6 pm at the Central Library to inform the public about the preliminary designs. Another session would be virtual on April 15th at 12 p.m. At these meetings the design team would also share information on their past and current efforts and current designs. They hope to wrap up the environmental document and phase 1 by the end of this June. The preliminary designs could serve future projects, such as a potential connecting highway segment between Wells St. and McKinley Ave with the Wisconsin DOT. This project would be put on shelf but certain portions could be implemented in place of other delayed or canceled projects or if other funding sources were to become available.
Members did not have any questions.
c. DCD Planning King Drive Corridor Plan update.
Mr. Gast presented. The Common Council had directed last year for DCD to prepare a corridor plan for N. Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Dr., which would result in developing an amended Northeast Side Area Plan (part of the City’s overall comprehensive plan). The King Drive Corridor Plan was an official comprehensive planning project between the City and the Historic King Drive BID. The corridor plan would focus on issues related to the built environment on N. MLK Dr. and provide updated comprehensive planning recommendations for land use and urban design, economic and real estate development, streets and public spaces.
The City's comprehensive plan was split up between a citywide policy plan with various elements (housing, transportation, parks) and 14 area plans. The King Drive Corridor fell mostly under the Northeast Side Area Plan. Portions south of Walnut St. were part of the Downtown Area Plan, which was recently adopted with the Connecting MKE – Downtown Plan 2040. The City’s comprehensive plan would require extensive public input and guide policy and long-term decision making related to the land use and development with a 20-year vision for the future. Zoning must be consistent with the comprehensive plan. Plans would set community goals and objectives for development and could provide a basis to support future public and private investment in specific projects or priorities.
The Northeast Side Area Plan was adopted in 2009. Since then significant development had occurred with new issues and opportunities having emerged. There had been several design charrettes along the King Drive corridor such as the Bronzeville charrette (2013), King Drive charrette (2013), and Five Points charrette (2017). There had also been an Equitable Growth Through Transit Oriented Development Plan (TOD Plan) adopted in 2018. The TOD Plan focused on transit-oriented development south of North Ave. The Historic King Drive BID boundaries were expanded in 2020 to extend north to W. Capitol Dr. Other efforts along the corridor would include strategic frameworking, commercial nodes studies, streetscaping, signage, and murals. The corridor plan would build upon all previous efforts aforementioned.
Project objectives of the King Drive Corridor Plan would include facilitating inclusive engagement of area residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to build a long-term vision for the future of King Dr., identifying key sites for redevelopment and creating visuals to illustrate potential development concepts that align with community goals, identifying actionable strategies to market and redevelop city-owned vacant land and buildings in the King Dr. corridor, assessing market dynamics and developing a tenanting and commercial revitalization strategy for King Dr., identifying key placemaking opportunities and developing short-term activation strategies for specific locations along the corridor, exploring opportunities and long-term strategies for public open space, and identifying and addressing parking challenges in the area.
The draft project timeline was at the prelaunch phase presently. They were working with the Historic King Drive BID to map out the project, develop a public engagement plan, identify stakeholders, and issue an urban design RFQ (active presently). An architecture or planning firm would be hired to help formulate key concepts of the plan and potential development concepts for key sites. The next phase (Discover) would occur this spring where data collection, mapping, analysis of existing conditions, and key stakeholder meetings would occur. Summer would be a subsequent phase (Dream) where collective visioning, engagement on issues and opportunities, and generation of idea would occur. Winter (2026 and 2027) would be a phase (Design) where assessment, prioritization of ideas, engagement of alternative design solutions, and drafting of a plan would occur. The final phase (Act) would occur in spring 2027 with Common Council approval of the plan and implementation of the plan. Multiple public meetings in a variety of formats would occur in between each phase. They would look to have booths at the Juneteenth and Bronzeville Week festivals to engage the public.
Vice-chair Hill commented. It was important to have an inclusive process and build upon existing assets; to have feedback from community stakeholders, neighborhood partners, and businesses on and surrounding King Drive; and have intentionality on activating the northern part of the district north of North Ave. up to Capitol Dr. The plan would produce implementation strategies that could readily occur so as long as they could be funded. All were encouraged to be part of the planning process.
Mr. Gast added that any inquiries could be directed to him.
d. DCD Real Estate updates.
Ms. Smith gave an update. The RFPs were still active for 2601-09 N. MLK Dr. (former Career Youth Development building) and 2615-43 N. MLK Dr. (Victory Over Violence Park vacant parcel). RFP submittal deadlines were March 23, 2026. There was a recent information session at MLK Library. There were potential leads and further discussion to be had to find potential funding sources to restore 2673-79 N. MLK Dr. (Hummel/Uihlein Building). All options would be exhausted to see if the building could be saved.
e. DCD Commercial Corridor grant updates.
Member Moore, Sr., gave an update. The project at 425 W. Walnut St. was completed and under reimbursement for $2,500 out of the Bronzeville TID funds and $29,810 from the Commercial Corridor general fund. The project at 501 W. North Ave. was also completed, and documentation was submitted for reimbursement. Commercial Corridor grant funding was available for any shovel ready project.
Ald. Coggs inquired about the reimbursement at 501 W. North Ave.
Member Moore, Sr. replied that the reimbursement was $5,000 for façade work specifically for the windows, doors, and framing there. They did pre-site and post-site visits and took pictures before doing any submittal of documents.
f. Other.
There was no other discussion. | | | |
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| | 5. | | Public comments and/or announcements.
Minutes note: Ald. Coggs announced the celebration of the 6th Annual Girl's Day at City Hall on March 26, 2026 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There would be a scholarship in honor of Akuwa Dantzler's name. Middle and high school girls were encouraged to register, attend the event, and be exposed to public service. Registration was still open on the City's website and end on March 20th.
LaRisa Lynch, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, inquired about the current building located at 1703 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.
Mr. Gast replied that the current residential building would be demolished and replaced with a newly constructed building. | | | |
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| | 6. | | Next steps.
Minutes note: a. Agenda items for the next meeting.
To be determined.
b. Next meeting date and time.
Monday, May 11, 2026 at 9 a.m. in-person. | | | |
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| | 7. | | Adjournment.
Minutes note: Meeting adjourned at 9:57 a.m.
Chris Lee, Staff Assistant
Council Records Section
City Clerk's Office | | | |
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