Eyeing a theater, Bucks' owner overlooked our demolition style

A Milwaukee Bucks executive wants to get rid of the Milwaukee Theater downtown.

Yes, it's a beautiful facility with $26 million in construction debt to be paid, but cut these NBA team owners some slack. 

They're new in town and don't know that tearing down homes and businesses around here is the job of the 'freeway builders' at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation: 

The '60s were the high-water mark for freeway construction in Milwaukee, with roughly 10 miles of new freeway were completed every year. But those miles were coming at a significant cost -- not just to taxpayers. More than 6,000 homes were demolished, forcing 20,000 people to relocate in order to make way for freeways – many of which were never built.

More history: when WisDOT got ready to rebuild and expand one of those 'freeway' segments - - the Marquette Interchange - - Aldrich Chemical, a long-time downtown manufacturing business "had to go" in exchange for millions of dollars in public money.

Not to mention a variety of residential and commercial structures which were in the way of the 'improved' Zoo Interchange west of Milwaukee:

The new plan would take out an eight-unit apartment building, three businesses - a Super 8 Motel and a Starbucks Coffee shop along Highway 100 near I-94 and an oil-change service. The county greenhouse and a county highway salt dome also would be demolished to make way for the road.

Likes others south of Milwaukee to the Illinois border:

...some businesses located along the I-94 corridor, including the iconic Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha County, are being forced to re-locate to make way for the newer and wider freeway. The DOT is acquiring 700 properties, some on a temporary basis, along the I-94 corridor for the project. About 10 businesses along the freeway are being relocated including Mars Cheese Castle and several gas stations. Mario Ventura Jr., the owner of the Mars Cheese Castle, plans to build a new building for the store near the existing building. Some homes will also be removed by the DOT, which pays fair market value for the properties and provides relocation services for commercial and residential property owners.

Not to mention wetlands, existing interchanges and other in-place assets that have to go to lay down lanes and exits.