Monday, May 11, 2009

UWM Closer To Wauwatosa Expansion

The monument builders will have their way out at the County Grounds in Wauwatosa, as a committee of the cash-starved County Board approves a $13+ million-dollar land deal.

This reminds me of the Madison Area Technical College's expansion at the Madison airport years ago, when the local tech board wanted a bucolic, picture-postcard campus far from Madison's downtown...bus connections...housing...retail amenities...culture, and so forth.

Which is why UWM never seriously considered downtown Milwaukee for this expansion even though there is square-footage galore, private sector facilities, and engineering and science programs at Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering nearby.

Once the higher ed powers-that-be get that monument-building fever, there are few antidotes.

4 comments:

rich said...

Didja hear? The Wauwatosa Chamber of Commerce is lobbying for a name change.

From
University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee

to
University of Wisconsin--Wauwatosa.

Sure, it doesn't have that same ring to it, but UWW is said to have more resonance with the larger 'Wisconsin Brand'.

Awaiting comments from Tom Barrett's office.

Todd F said...

I've often thought that an environmentally sensitive development along the Milw. River's east shore from North Ave up to Kenwood would be a natural place for UWM to expand in to. Include plenty of green space, bike trails, river access, pedestrian bridge and you could have some pretty good size structures as well. It would tie the new dorm on the west side of the river to the main campus nicely.

James Rowen said...

To Todd F: I think the "overlay district" sets up those rules.

Todd F said...

OK, but just think about that section north of North Ave, west of Newhall and up to Riverside Park. Seems like a tasty morsel if you ask me. (I bet Godfrey may have something like that in the back of his mind too.)

Bike trails instead of shuttle buses would be nice. The issue of transportation for all of UWM's outlying projects is being finessed it seems.

I assume you mean that the overlay district restricts development for the sensitive, wetland areas. I'm suggesting that a "green" UWM campus may be the next best thing to an actual new park.