The City of Milwaukee is hitting reset on plans to redevelop the Marcus Performing Arts Center parking structure site, announcing Friday that it will seek new development partners for the high-profile downtown location as the developer it previously chose has run into financial issues.
The move follows months of stalled progress with Madison-based Neutral, the firm selected by the Department of City Development in 2024 to transform the 2.5-acre property at 1001 N. Water St. with an ambitious $700 million vision featuring multiple high-rise towers.
Neutral’s proposal never gained traction at City Hall. Downtown Ald. Bob Bauman questioned whether the relatively young firm, which was founded in 2020, could deliver such a large-scale project. As political gridlock set in, the Common Council never took up DCS’s proposed one-year exclusive negotiation agreement with the developer.
Earlier this year, Neutral began construction on its 31-story, 353-unit apartment tower at 1005 N. Edison St., which is adjacent to the MPAC parking structure. After that project’s foundation was completed, however, construction halted in mid-September with Neutral saying a temporary pause was necessary to address rising construction costs.
Since then, Fond du Lac-based general contractor C.D. Smith removed its equipment from the project site and spraypainted over its logo on the project site’s fence. Last week, the 225-foot crane was disassembled, and C.D. Smith filed a $10.2 million construction lien against Neutral. Two other construction liens, one from C.D. Smith totaling $4.1 million, were also filed for unpaid work on Neutral’s completed downtown Madison project Bakers Place.
In response to the construction stoppage at the Edison, Bauman in late September brought forward a resolution to direct DCD to issue a new request for proposals for the MPAC parking structure site.
“Given their track record with the Edison project, I can’t even conceive of turning over 2.5 acres of downtown real estate to them when they now have a project that stopped,” Bauman told BizTimes at the time. “I was gonna let things play out a little bit, but given this turn of events, I said, ‘Okay, it’s time to cut our losses and start the process over.’”
The resolution was discussed by the city’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee last month, but the committee held off on taking a formal vote at the time at DCD Commissioner Lafayette Crump’s request.
But now DCD is ready to seek a new developer for the MPAC parking structure site.
“The city remains fully committed to advancing a vision that best serves our community’s long-term interests,” Crump said in a Friday press release. “Redevelopment of the site was identified in the City’s Connec+ing MKE Downtown Plan 2040 as a catalytic project and is important to the future success of downtown. We look forward to engaging new partners who share our goals for growth and adding density and vibrancy to this key site.”
DCD said the decision to seek new development partners came after discussion with Neutral. DCD did not immediately share what the process to find new developers would entail.
“DCD will share future updates as efforts advance to identify new partners and will continue to have close communication with the Common Council and key stakeholders regarding this
catalytic site,” the department said.
Neutral’s proposal for the Marcus Performing Arts Center parking structure. Rendering from MGA
