BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

200 E. Wells Street City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 Meeting Minutes BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RALPH HOLLMON, CHAIR Rhonda Manuel, Vice-Chair Jayme Montgomery Baker, Fidel Verdin, Theresa Garrison, Christopher McIntyre, and Clifton Crump Staff Assistant, Chris Lee, 286-2232, Fax: 286-3456, clee@milwaukee.gov Legislative Liaison, Jeffrey Osterman, 286-2262, joster@milwaukee.gov Friday, January 9, 2015 10:15 AM Room 301-B, 3rd Fl., City Hall Special 1. Call to Order. Meeting called to order at 10:18 a.m. 2. Roll Call. Present 7 - Manuel, Hollmon, Montgomery Baker, Verdin, Crump, Garrison and McIntyre 3. Review and Approval of the Previous Minutes from January 6, 2015. Mr. Crump moved approval, seconded by Mr. McIntyre, of the minutes from January 6, 2015. There were no objections. 4. Historic Garfield School - 4th & North Side RFP and Proposals. Mr. Hollmon recused himself and passed the chair position to the vice-chair, Ms. Manuel, due to being a partner for one of the proposals. Mr. Hollmon left the committee at 10:24 a.m. --Presentations from Applicants: Maures Development Group, LLC Individuals appearing: Melissa Goins, Maures Development Group, LLC Mark Ernst, Engberg Anderson Architects Brad Pruitt, America’s Black Holocaust Museum Sara Daleiden, Greater Milwaukee Committee & America’s Black Holocaust Museum Ptosha Davis, Universal Companies Rahim Islam, Universal Companies Ms. Goins gave comments. She is the founder of her real estate company, Maures City of Milwaukee Page 1 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes January 9, 2015 COMMITTEE Development Group, LLC, which is based in the City. The project includes restoration of the former America’s Black Holocaust Museum. The goals of the project are to restore pride in the community, honor the past, celebrate the present, and embrace the future. The project will focus and incorporate African American roots, history, art, culture, entertainment, and liveliness. The development team is made up of her company, CommonBond Communities, and Universal Companies. CommonBond is one of the largest nonprofit real estate development companies in the Midwest and will bring financial wherewithal to the project. Engberg Anderson Architects will do site planning and program the development. Mr. Islam gave comments. The museum, housing, and commercial investments are astronomical for the community and will be a catalyst for the redevelopment of the Bronzeville district. The museum is a critical component and is symbolic to restore pride to the community. The museum was closed in 2008 after Dr. Cameron’s passing. There is a virtual museum in its third year. The virtual museum was launched as a way to return the museum back to a physical space. Apartments will be at both affordable and market rates. Universal Companies is an African led corporation focused on mass planning in neighborhoods. Mr. Ernst gave comments. His firm has worked with Maures Development, the street on the African Cultural Center, and the community. The physical site plan will portray in some respect the design created from the Bronzeville charette at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. There will be a key mixed-use commercial and apartment housing new construction building at the north portion of the site on North Avenue. To the south of this building will be critical green space and a community pavilion with a stage that can be used for a variety of open or closed community events. The former Garfield school will be restored for housing and community arts. A cultural facility will be at the south portion of the site. The west portion of the site will have an ample parking lot that can potentially be a site for another residential building. Units on the site will have large scale windows. There will be public art and imagery on the site and at the new construction on North Avenue. Ms. Goins said that the project is not about bricks or mortar. It is important to them to make sure the spaces have meaning and come alive with naming, artwork, and portrayal of important individuals from history. The proposed name for the apartments will be “Griot,” which means a member of class of traveling poets, musicians, and storytellers who maintains oral history in parts of Africa. Ms. Goins spoke about financials and timeline. Numerous budgets and proposals have been submitted. The project is estimated to be a 14.3 million dollar transaction offering about 12,000 square feet of overall retail commercial-type space. Portions are dedicated for the museum, leasable retail and office space, and an art center. There will be 66 residential units with 20% of those units at market rate. Surface parking will be for about 80 spaces. The new construction building is anticipated to have underground parking. If awarded the project, her team will institute a community engagement strategy that will take multiple months to account for history, facts, and lessons in the community. Further details of this presentation can be found in “Maures Development LLC Presentation” within Common Council File Number 111665. Member Montgomery Baker joined the committee at 10:44 a.m. Committee members questioned community engagement, job creation, playground, restaurant on North Avenue, outreach strategy, Bronzeville charette design, Halyard Park consideration, general plan development process, communication with the local City of Milwaukee Page 2 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes January 9, 2015 COMMITTEE alderwoman, the museum, commercial space uses, construction date, tax credit, further information regarding the team, potential partners, and performance space. Ms. Elaine Miller, Department of City Development, appeared and commented. The recent general plan development zoning change allows a project to move forward immediately for financing purposes but requires final design to have DCD review and undergo a public process. The Maures Development Group, LLC group responded to the committee’s questions. There is intention for community engagement to occur to gather input from the community, but details on the process is to be crafted still. Green space and a playground will be on the east portion of the site and closer to 4th Street. The restaurant “Pagoda” was looked at to be kept, but it will either be relocated or demolished. Outreach strategy has been conceptual at this point. The desire is to have a series of design workshops with a small group and public presentations to gather larger community input. Ms. Goins has been involved in many meetings over the last decade regarding the area and has taken into account many ideas. The team has reviewed the charette documents and has captured many aspects of those documents such as music, outdoor space, residential units, and commercial units. The team will be in communication with the Halyard Park community and perhaps research traffic data in the area. The team is familiar with the detailed plan development and public processes. Mr. Islam has had conversations with the local alderwoman. The project is consistent with the alderwoman’s vision to restore and revitalize North Avenue and Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Drive. The museum is committed to be a tenant. Other commercial space uses will be determined from community engagement. Perhaps there will be a café shop of some sort incorporating African coffee, eatery or restaurant along the main commercial strip and museum. The former Garfield building will be for practitioners at discounted rates. The museum will partner with a retailer, be on North Avenue, and be about 8600 square feet. The community art center will be at the southern portion and will be a combination of practitioner space as well as residential units. Actual construction of the site is probably not realistic for this year. The City decision making process and the process to solidify financing will take months. Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) will be a primary source of funding and is only available in the end of January and in August. Application for LIHTC funds will take months. A large amount of funding will come from tax credits, about 70%. Regarding the team, Mr. Islam has been involved with the education process and redevelopment of neighborhoods. His interest to rebuild the museum led him to partner with Ms. Goins. Ms. Daleiden has worked nationally in arts and creative place-making with different American cities particularly focused on development of neighborhoods. She is an advisor to the museum and brings a national network of foundation, public, and private leadership. Ms. Goins has been involved in the real estate for about nine years, worked with an array of organizations, and is based in the City. Everyone is working together on this project due to having passion, experience, genuineness, the right mind, and good relationships with one another. Newaukee and about up to fifteen other groups are also potential partners on the project. These other diversified groups can contribute to the success and sustainability of the project. The performance space can be further defined relative to open floor play and type of venues, but it cannot be a theater due to the lack of ceiling height. City of Milwaukee Page 3 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes January 9, 2015 COMMITTEE Mr. Islam and Ms. Goins gave closing remarks. The project makes sense, will include the community, will be transparent, and has a team that is committed to restore the Bronzeville African American community. The team brings success and has the embodiment to honor the legacy of the community. Gorman & Company, Inc. Individuals appearing: Ted Matkom, Gorman & Company, Inc. Allyson Nemec, Quorum Architects, Inc. Randy Crump, Prism Technical Management Consultants Mr. Matkom gave comments. His company has worked with the Milwaukee Urban League in the past on its former headquarters and relocation to 5th Street and North Avenue. The Bronzeville charette brought his firm to work with Quorum Architects, the Urban League, and Prism Technical. The parking lot, school, and land at the site have tremendous potential to activate the street, add jobs, and add tax base. The original proposal was for a library and coffee shop on North Avenue, but a new proposal without a library has been submitted within the last three months due to a library not be viable. A coffee shop will be explored further for the new proposal but was preferred to coincide with a library. The new proposal is based from the Bronzeville charette plan. It will include a pavilion for various venues, a new mixed-use residential and office building on North Avenue, reutilization of the former Garfield school into housing, and a parking lot on the west side. Regarding the former school site, there will be reasonably 37 total units in consideration of residents in the area. The floor plan is artist lofts. The basement will have artist workspace, gallery, dart room, and currently three bedrooms. The number of bedrooms can be adjusted based on community input. Hallways can be designed with large corridors and historic pictures or murals on the walls. Artists can be hired to engage with the community to design and install those pictures, showcases, and murals that are unique to the location and history of the area. His firm has similarly done these historic pictures, showcases, and murals in the past in instances such as Sherman Park and Jackie Robinson School. The new mixed-use building on North Avenue will involve multiple stakeholders and include all partners present today as well as the Urban League. Prism Technical will be the anchor tenant at this building. The design of the building is a work-in-progress. Three floors were original submitted, but the desire is for four floors. Office use is desired for the first floor and perhaps portions or the entire second floor. The third and possible fourth floors will be residential apartments. The apartments will be at market rate. They will like to explore what the market rate is for office space in the area. The mixed-use building will activate the corner. Regarding financing, there is a revised 4% WHEDA noncompetitive application, as opposed to a 9% competitive application, combined with historic credit and secured Citi Bank gap financing for affordable housing. The purchase price for the land is $2 million and the school is $300,000. Building costs will be approximately $4.4 million. In the 9% WHEDA application, total project cost is about $6 million. Mr. Randy Crump said that his firm wants to be part of the Bronzeville area, which is ideal, and will bring other firms as well, such as Crump Law Firm and Ellis Engineering. He is a life-long Milwaukee resident and has been active in his church a mile away from the area. His firm does consulting in the construction industry in Wisconsin and other states, has worked with talented students and inner city kids, and been involved in notable projects. Some of those projects include Miller Park, City of Milwaukee Page 4 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes January 9, 2015 COMMITTEE Lambeau Field, City Hall, Milwaukee Public Schools, and Northwestern Mutual. The firm is planning to expand and double in size in the next five years. Further details of this presentation can be found in “Gorman & Company Inc. Presentation” within Common Council File Number 111665. Committee members questioned Halyard Park community outreach; communication with the local alderwoman; engagement with the artist community; public art design; effect on the community from visual designs; job opportunities; incorporation of Bronzeville culture, art, and entertainment; and the mixed-use building; and each firm’s engagement in the City. The Gorman & Company Inc. team responded. There have not been any conversations with the Halyard Park community and Ald. Milele Coggs. The proposal reflects the Bronzeville charette and the alderwoman’s design. Community involvement regarding the artist lofts and mixed-use building will be one of the first tasks to be done if they are awarded the RFP. The artwork in the hallways of the buildings will very likely be graphic photographs from historic archives similar to the photographs in other buildings. There will be no artist renderings. Community leaders can be brought together regarding the photographs, but efforts to engage the artist community should come from the community. The public art installations have not been determined. They have been involved in public art relative to murals and sculptures. They are open to work with the community on the public art installations and finding artists. Bronzeville culture, art, and music will be reflected on the site, especially at the school building; however, the community will define how and what is incorporated on the entire site. The new building and plaza can incorporate those visual aspects that can have a restoration effect for the area. The school building has some limitations due to its historic aspects. Making the corner of 4th Street and North Avenue a stopping place for employment, meeting place, and socialization will have a greater impact than culture and artwork. The proposal has a sharing concept that will activate the site and bring interaction. Meetings from the mixed-use building can occur for free at the Urban League. Perhaps a coffee shop can be called “Dreamchasing Café” as a theme or idea to encourage development, growth, and vision for the community and youth. Prism Technical is engaged as a business in sustaining the participation of 40% of local residents from the City in construction projects. Gorman and Company is involved in construction and has a good track record with the City in meeting the requirements for workforce development, small business enterprise, and emerging business enterprise. The mixed-use building will have two lower stories of office space and two upper stories of residential apartments at market rate only. There will be about 24 apartments. Design of the building is to be determined. Regarding the team’s engagement in Bronzeville and the City’s north side, Mr. Randy Crump has been in business over 20 years in the City. He has worked with north side children in his firm. Through his church, he has worked with north side kids and the community relative to bringing peace and creating jobs. Ms. Nemec lives in the Concordia neighborhood in the City, has children that attend Rufus High School, and is active on her children’s school council. Her firm is a City small business enterprise business and has been involved with many developments in the City, such as the streetscape project on Dr. Martin L. King Drive., for 21 years. She has a good City of Milwaukee Page 5 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes January 9, 2015 COMMITTEE working relationship with Gorman and Company and Prism Technical on many projects. Mr. Matkom’s company is located in southern Madison. His office and home is located in the City. He is familiar with the north side and all his firm’s projects have been on the north side of the City thus far. One big project currently for the company is taking and turning City tax foreclosed properties into single family rental homes under the WHEDA program. Closing remarks were made by Mr. Matkom and Mr. Crump. The project can be done at any time with a 4% WHEDA application, funding already secured, and noncompetitive historic tax credit. To be determined are design and approval. Garfield school is the footprint and driver of the entire project. The plaza will incorporate the community regarding public art and be laid out consistent with the design charette. Having an anchor tenant in Prism Technical that will partner with the existing Urban League at the site will make the redevelopment work. --Review of Proposals Mr. Verdin moved that the Bronzeville Advisory Committee convene into closed session, pursuant to s. 19.85(1)(e) for the purpose of deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session. Ayes - Crump, McIntyre, Garrison, Verdin, Montgomery Baker, Manuel Excused - Hollmon The committee convened into closed session at 12:05 p.m. Present - Crump, McIntyre, Garrison, Verdin, Montgomery Baker, Manuel Excused - Hollmon Individuals also present: Deshea Agee, Department of City Development Ald. Milele Coggs, 6th Aldermanic District Mr. Verdin moved that the Bronzeville Advisory Committee convene into open session. There were no objections. The committee convened into open session at 12:50 p.m. --Recommendations Ms. Garrison moved to recommend the proposal from Maures Development Group, LLC for the Historic Garfield School - 4th & North Side RFP based on this proposal being the most consistent with the goals, needs and desires of the Bronzeville community and its residents, businesses, property owners, and other stakeholders. Ms. Montgomery Baker seconded. Member Crump abstained. Member Hollmon excused. There were no objections. 5. Old Business. The committee did not discuss any old business. 6. New Business. City of Milwaukee Page 6 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes January 9, 2015 COMMITTEE The committee did not discuss any new business. 7. Items for the Next Meeting Agenda. The committee did not discuss any items for the next meeting agenda. 8. Set Next Meeting Date and Time. No date and time was set for the next meeting. 9. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 12:52 p.m. City of Milwaukee Page 7