Delayed Couture high-rise on Milwaukee's downtown lakefront to break ground by October

The long-delayed Couture apartment high-rise planned for downtown Milwaukee's lakefront is expected to begin construction by October.

That's according to city Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux.

Marcoux on Tuesday briefed members of the Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee on projects in the Lakefront Gateway area.

Marcoux also said a lakefront site that had been considered for a possible Johnson Controls Inc. office tower is now being offered for other developments.

The 44-story Couture is to be built at 909 E. Michigan St. by Barrett Lo Visionary Development LLC. The site once held a Milwaukee County Transit System facility that Barrett Lo demolished last year.

The Couture is to include 312 high-end apartments, 52,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and a transit concourse featuring the new downtown streetcar.

The lakefront loop from the main streetcar line to the Couture and back is under construction, Marcoux told committee members.

But construction work on the Couture hasn't yet started.

Developer Rick Barrett "had to do some work with his (construction) estimates" because of rising costs, Marcoux said.

Barrett Lo recently reached an agreement with Madison-based general contractor J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. for a guaranteed maximum price on the Couture, Marcoux said. The project's total development costs have been estimated at $122 million.

Meanwhile, Barrett Lo's application for a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is under review, he said. That program provides loan guarantees in return for fees from developers.

"Our expectation is they will break ground in October," Marcoux said.

It would take about 30 months to complete the Couture. Barrett last spring had planned to begin construction by the end of 2017.

Marcoux also said the possible Johnson Controls office tower site is in flux. The parcel is owned by the state Department of Transportation and was created when ramps were moved during the reconstruction of I-794.

The Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett in 2015 approved a $250,000 city grant to match $250,000 from Johnson Controls to conduct soil tests on the site, about 3 acres south of E. Clybourn St. and west of N. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

However, that study hasn't been done, Marcoux said. Johnson Controls later merged with Tyco International plc, and last fall named a new chief executive officer, George Oliver.

Johnson Controls is still considering the site, he said.

But, Marcoux added, city officials unsuccessfully pitched the site last year to Amazon.com Inc. when it sought proposals for its second headquarters, and to Foxconn Technologies Group.

Foxconn in February said it would create offices at an existing building it's buying at 611 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Finally, Marcoux said fundraising would begin this year for the proposed Lakefront Gateway Plaza on the east side of Lincoln Memorial Drive, just west of Discovery World.

Marcoux said the effort is seeking $30 million in private funds for the plaza, which was proposed in 2015.

The plaza would feature a fountain area that would double as winter ice-skating rinks, as well as trees, shrubs, benches and paths. It would connect to the west side of Lincoln Memorial Drive with a pedestrian bridge, and with an extension of E. Clybourn St.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.