Photo by Erik Ljung
It seems Milwaukee has a humility problem. Too much of it, that is. Or at least that’s what a few notable Milwaukeeans think.
Ten leaders joined moderators Ted Perry, Fox 6 news anchor, and Bruce Murphy, editor of UrbanMilwaukee.com and former editor of Milwaukee Magazine, at the Envisioning the Seen event at the Pabst Theater last night. Historic Milwaukee organized the event as a follow-up to Remarkable Milwaukee, which took place in a similar format in January. (Read our coverage.)
The free-flowing beer, provided by Brenner Brewing Company, kept the night light-hearted and candid. Discussion began with talk of city development projects in Menomonee River Valley, Bronzeville and Park East – which was opened up after the removal of a freeway spur during John Norquist’ mayoral tenure. The Kohl’s Corporation was flirting with the idea of relocating its headquarters to the Park East corridor, but officially dropped those plans in February.
Juli Kaufmann, founder of Fix Development, a sustainable development consulting firm, emphasized the need to think small or “think of parcels as much smaller parcels” in order to spur healthy development in areas such as the Park East corridor.
Young Kim, director of Fondy’s Food Center, a North Side farm-to-table organization agreed with her sentiment. Milwaukee development “doesn’t have to be this big blanket. It can be a quilt,” Kim said. “Milwaukee is good at being modest.”
But that modesty has a drawback. Lincoln Fowler, an Alterra Coffee Roasters founder, mused that cities with similar size and density are doing a better job at developing advanced public transportation. Meanwhile, Milwaukee seems to have the consciousness of the little engine that couldn’t. And Fowler called that level of humility dangerous. “We want to be world class … the point is it’s not about us. It’s not about Alterra. Milwaukee has the capacity to do world class work. We just have to decide to do it.”
An audience member told the panel he noticed a negative comment on the event’s online page. Its author found fault with Fowler being a guest because Historic Milwaukee should have found a “local coffee shop” owner. Which raised the hypothetical question: When someone in Milwaukee gets too successful, do we start to resent them? Fowler argued that “more is more” and just because your competition wins doesn’t mean you lose.
Although the panelists’ areas of expertise and business savvy differed, most agreed that funding and support for public education was the key to creating and sustaining development. That can happen through reinvestment and support from those who live outside of the neighborhoods that need development most.
Melissa Goins, founder of Maures Development Group, which focuses on urban revitalization projects, drove that point home. “There’s no individual piece that’s greater than the whole, and we’ve got to change our mindsets to really appreciate it.”
The only tense part of the discussion was when the fate of the Sydney Hih building, whose letters lined the back of stage, provoked audience member and Sydney Hih preservation activist Noah Skowronski to challenge the panel on their ambivalent stance on the building’s preservation.
When tradition conflicts with new ideas, as the Sydney Hih debate illustrates, maybe it’s still easier for Milwaukeeans to agree on food and music. Daniel Holter, producer and composer at the Burst Collective and partner at the License Lab, said food and music transcend different cultures and can bring people together.
Brats, anyone?
— Samy Moskol
I boarded my first Midwest flight one morning a couple of weeks after moving here, and was immediately impressed with the wide leather seats. That was good enough, that is until the flight attendant poured me a glass of champagne shortly after take off. I was hooked. Bacon, cereal, coffee, juice, champagne. Holy crap!