The possible arena site, outlined in red, is at the corner of N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave. Credit: HGA Architects and Engineers

SHARE Design A The first arena sketch shows taking down the Boston Store and being able to build a 180-degree-wide garage over on 5th St., the tall first floor of which would be service support for the arena along W. Michigan St., with retail shops and restaurants along W. Wisconsin Ave. and some of 5th St. (Click to enlarge) Design B The second sketch keeps the Boston Store intact with a large and wide plaza along W. Wisconsin Ave., and the arena across the street from the convention center. (Click to enlarge) Design C The third sketch has a plaza entry to the arena on Wisconsin Ave., and creates a large atrium where the Boston Store is located. (Click to enlarge) Design D The fourth sketch envisions a large atrium joining a plaza on the north side, with the atrium wrapping around what is currently the Boston Store. (Click to enlarge) Don Walker is on a fellowship established through Marquette University Law School's Sheldon B. Lubar Fund for Public Policy Research. The fellowship is aimed at providing support for journalism projects on issues of civic importance. All the work is done under the direction of Journal Sentinel editors. More coverage

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A specific site for a new, multipurpose arena in Milwaukee has yet to surface, but at least one local real estate firm has been trying to drum up interest in a site on a city-owned parking lot on W. Wisconsin Ave.

Zilber Ltd., prominent players in the local real estate market under the late Joseph Zilber, asked the architectural firm HGA, which has a Milwaukee office, to envision a possible arena at the corner of N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave. The land is surrounded by the Wisconsin Center convention center, the Boston Store, the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and parking ramps to the south.

Mike Mervis of Zilber Ltd. said his firm was working with HGA on another project when he had what he called "this crazy idea" to build a proposed arena on W. Wisconsin Ave. He brought it to the attention of Jim Shields, HGA's vice president, who agreed to prepare the sketches for free.

Shields said he put together four sketches of what an arena on that site would look like by taking the outline of a typical-sized NBA arena and superimposing it on the site. The sketches or renderings have been circulating among city officials and business leaders downtown.

The possibility of a new arena on W. Wisconsin Ave. has been the subject of continued speculation as work continues on developing strategies for financing an arena. Wes Edens and Marc Lasry, the owners of the Milwaukee Bucks, have said they want to break ground on a new arena by next spring.

In addition to W. Wisconsin Ave., other sites in play include the land just north of the BMO Harris Bradley Center and the land now occupied by the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Milwaukee Theatre. Franklyn Gimbel of the Wisconsin Center District, which owns and operates the convention center, UWM Arena and the Milwaukee Theatre, has said he has no interest in demolishing the arena and theater for a new arena.

The headquarters of Journal Communications, 333 W. State St., which publishes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, also has been discussed as a potential site or part of a larger arena development. Steve Smith, chairman and CEO of Journal Communications, said in an email that he understood there is a lot of speculation about arena sites.

"I cannot add anything to that," he said.

Open mind to options

The site put forth by Zilber satisfies Mayor Tom Barrett's stated wish that the new arena be located as close to W. Wisconsin Ave. as possible. The site also would be adjacent to the city's skywalk system and to the struggling Shops of Grand Avenue. The Shops of Grand Avenue is back on the auction block; bidding begins Oct. 21.

In three of the sketches, Shields eliminates the Boston Store and headquarters of Bon-Ton, located at the southeast corner of N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave.

In April, the Common Council voted to provide $1.2 million for the Boston Store. In return, Bon-Ton Stores, which operates the department store, will keep the store open at least through January 2018. Bon-Ton also agreed to maintain its Milwaukee corporate office through January 2018.

The Boston Store building is owned by Wispark LLC, Wisconsin Energy Corp.'s development subsidiary.

Gale Klappa, chairman and CEO of the Wisconsin Energy Corp., said in a statement that, "a growing, vibrant downtown Milwaukee is important to our company and to our employees. So we have an open mind about the potential sites being discussed. We believe the goal should be to maximize the value of a new arena to the city and to the Bucks franchise."

A Wisconsin Energy Corp. spokeswoman said Klappa was not referring specifically to the site at N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave. but to multiple sites downtown.

Stephen Chernof, who created WAM DC LLC, a nonprofit, private development group hoping to come up with new development plans for downtown's west side, said Friday a potential arena at N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave., would be a "very tight fit."

"And it doesn't leave development space around it," Chernof said in an email.

Patrick Curley, Barrett's chief of staff, said city officials had seen the sketches. "We thought the renderings were very interesting," Curley said. "It is an intriguing proposal."

One sketch envisions a large garage near N. 5th St., across the street from the Hilton. The green-roofed garage would include retail and restaurants. The arena itself would be built over N. 4th St.

Another sketch keeps the Boston Store intact with a large and wide plaza along W. Wisconsin Ave., and the arena across the street from the convention center.

A third sketch has a plaza entry to the arena on Wisconsin Ave. and creates a large atrium where the Boston Store is located.

And a fourth sketch envisions a large atrium joining a plaza on the north side, with the atrium wrapping around what is currently the Boston Store.

Mervis, whose company owns a parking ramp at the corner of N. 4th and W. Michigan streets, said locating a new arena next to The Shops of Grand Avenue "would be great for downtown and great for the city."

"It would add excitement to downtown. It would save downtown. I'm not a fan of putting it over near the BMO Harris Bradley Center. That's too isolated from the heart of downtown."

Mervis said, ultimately, the decision "is still with the Bucks," adding that Lasry and Edens would find the site is "the best option and the only true downtown option."

A spokesman for the Bucks said the team would have no comment.