The Wisconsin Center District leadership and board members, elected officials and community leaders broke ground for the Wisconsin Center expansion Oct. 29. The $420 million project will take up one square city block on Kilbourn Avenue, between Vel R. Phillips Avenue and Sixth Street, in Milwaukee.
The project will include 650,000 square feet of space, bringing the total Wisconsin Center convention center footprint to more than 1.3 million square feet.
The Wisconsin Center expansion project will include 300,000 contiguous square feet of exhibit hall space, a rooftop ballroom and outdoor terraces, indoor parking, 24 additional flexible meeting rooms for a total of 52 and a retrofit of the current convention center.
“Today’s groundbreaking is the formal celebration of our highly-anticipated $420 million expansion that has been years in the making,” said Marty Brooks, president and chief executive officer of the WCD. “Doubling the size of the convention center allows us to execute multiple, simultaneous events bringing more visitors to Milwaukee to attend conferences and patronize local businesses. Meeting planners can expect flexible meeting space, robust IT infrastructure, and top-of-the-line health and safety features, along with our signature Bold, Proud, Experience Obsessed service delivery approach.”
After opening, the WCD anticipates an additional 100,000 out-of-state visitors annually, and the expansion is projected to generate $12.6 billion in total spending over 30 years.
The event began with remarks from Marty Brooks, who spoke to the project’s impact on economic prosperity in Milwaukee and creating a source of pride for residents. Additional speakers included WCD Board Chair Jim Kanter; VISIT Milwaukee President and CEO Peggy Williams-Smith; VISIT Milwaukee Board Chair Dr. Eve M. Hall; Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin; WCD Board Member and Milwaukee Fourth District Alderman Bob Bauman; City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump; Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley; and Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration Joel Brennan.
The expansion project includes a 31 percent disadvantaged business enterprise commitment with at least 25 percent minority-owned businesses, 5 percent women-owned businesses and 1 percent disabled veteran-owned businesses plus, a residents preferred program of 40 percent, meaning at least $40 million of the $100 million in anticipated construction wages will be earned by residents of the City of Milwaukee. Upon opening, the expanded Wisconsin Center is projected to support 2,300 full time equivalent jobs throughout the state of Wisconsin.
Expansion partners include the project owner’s representative, CAA ICON, design partners Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) and Atlanta-based tvsdesign, construction management partners Gilbane Building Company and C.D. Smith Construction, who have formed a joint venture as Gilbane | Smith Wisconsin Center Expansion (Gilbane | Smith), disadvantaged business enterprise partners Cross Management Services, Inc. and Prism Technical Management and Marketing Services, LLC. and naming-rights partner Legends. Additional design consultants include, Graef, American Design, Henderson Engineers, Howe Engineers, Young Caruso, The Sigma Group, IBC Engineering, Ken Saiki Design, E-3 Group, Selbert Perkins, Quorum, Rivion, Kapur and others.
