Members of the Milwaukee Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development (ZND) Committee pressed the Department of City Development (DCD) on Tuesday to consider reopening the bidding process for a high-profile downtown development site, as concerns grow over the city’s selected developer — but ultimately held off on taking a formal vote.
Last summer, DCD chose Madison-based Neutral to redevelop the aging Marcus Performing Arts Center (MPAC) parking structure site at 1001 N. Water St. with a $750 million mixed-use, multi-phase proposal — despite the firm’s limited track record. Since then, Neutral has paused construction next door at 1005 N. Edison St., where it is building a 31-story, 353-unit apartment tower called the Edison. The pause is due to cost overruns, and there is currently no timeline for work to resume.
Two weeks ago, downtown Ald. Bob Bauman filed a resolution directing DCD to issue a new request for proposals (RFP) for the 2.5-acre MPAC parking structure site. While Bauman has voiced skepticism about Neutral and its proposal from the beginning, he said the halt in construction on the Edison prompted him to formally introduce the resolution, which came before the ZND Committee on Tuesday.
While other committee members echoed Bauman’s concerns, DCD Commissioner Lafayette Crump argued it is too soon to reissue the RFP.
He emphasized that Neutral was never granted ownership of the MPAC parking structure site, DCD only proposed a one-year exclusive right to negotiate, which DCD wanted to use to assess project feasibility but never brought it for a vote.
Crump defended the city’s selection, saying Neutral’s proposal aligned more closely with the RFP’s criteria than the other two submissions because it broke up the block with multiple buildings, brought paths through the site, had higher density and did not request tax incremental financing for the parking component of the site like the other developers did.
Neutral’s proposal for the Marcus Performing Arts Center parking structure. Rendering from MGA
Crump said he was concerned that issuing a new RFP would require significant time and resources and could send the wrong message to developers.
“You’re gonna have way more time wasted if they fail to develop this in a way we’re happy with, way more time than just doing another RFP,” said Ald. Scott Spiker. “I’ve yet to hear why this would be a bad idea.”
Ald. Russell Stamper said he agreed with Spiker.
“I believe that we are being extremely reactive to something that happened on this other site,” Crump said. “And Ald. Bauman has made it clear that he never thought that they were going to be able to get it done, but I think you’re striking while the iron is hot.”
“This proves I was right,” Bauman said.
Crump said DCD would prefer to monitor Neutral’s progress on the Edison project and if no meaningful progress is made within the next six months, the department is prepared to issue a new RFP or consult other developers.
“You’re asking us to trust you when your department was just proven wrong?” Spiker asked Crump. “You got caught up in the pretty pictures, and you thought this could work, and it’s been shown it can’t.”
“I don’t believe that that’s the case,” Crump replied. “…If you talk to some well-known developers who have all been considered upstarts in their field, where people have said, ‘You’re not going to get that project done. You can’t do it that way. You can’t raise money like that. That’s not how we do it.’ They’ve gone on to be very successful, important members of the development community.”
Ultimately, the ZND Committee voted to hold Bauman’s resolution until its next meeting, asking DCD to provide further updates on the Edison project’s status.
