Tom Daykin

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin health network is planning to operate a $10 million health clinic to be built next to the new Milwaukee Bucks training facility, creating another large new investment in downtown's Park East strip.

The three-story, 37,000-square-foot medical office building will be west of N. 6th St. and south of W. McKinley Ave., and will be called the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin McKinley Health Center.

That clinic, announced Friday and scheduled to open in the fall of 2017, will provide medical services for nearby residents. It will help fill one of the blocks in the Park East strip, which was created on downtown's northern edge when the former Park East Freeway was demolished several years ago.

Separately, it was announced that the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center will be part of the future Bucks practice and training facility, which is being built west of N. 6th St. and north of W. Juneau Ave. The $30 million privately financed training facility, which will be just south of the clinic, is to open in August 2017. It will replace the team's current facility at the Archbishop Cousins Center in St. Francis.

The sports science center will combine the basketball club's medical team with Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin doctors and researchers to provide health care for the club's players.

"Today’s announcement is a reflection of the bold vision we share with our partners at Froedtert & MCW for how to build a healthier and more vibrant community in Milwaukee,” Bucks President Peter Feigin said in a statement.

“We are proud to bring a new health center to people who live in this area and honored to offer Froedtert & MCW’s deep expertise in medical care and research to both the community and the Bucks," said Cathy Jacobson, Froedtert Health president and chief executive officer.

The McKinley Health Center will be Wauwatosa-based Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin's first Milwaukee clinic to offer a wide range of services and will likely be used mainly by downtown and near north side residents. The health care network operates several similar clinics throughout the Milwaukee area, with a 104,300-square-foot facility under construction at Oak Creek's Drexel Town Square mixed-use project.

The downtown clinic will offer primary care, orthopedic, sports medicine and some specialty care as well as physical therapy, rehabilitation, imaging and laboratory services.

Head of the Herd LLC, an investors group affiliated with the Bucks, will develop the clinic and lease it to Froedtert & Medical College Wisconsin, Feigin said. He said it will cost over $10 million to build.

The clinic shows "the depth of commitment the Bucks have to this community," including nearby poor neighborhoods, Mayor Tom Barrett said at an event announcing the project.

The sports science center will be a hub for athletic performance research conducted by the Bucks and Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin, including sports medicine and injury prevention research.

The training center also will be a destination for community-based athletic camps, coach training and sports education.

Last month, the Bucks and Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin launched their partnership by unveiling plans to create the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Learning Center inside Carmen High School of Science & Technology’s northwest campus, 5496 N. 72nd St.

That program, also involving Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, will train more than 300 students and adults from the surrounding neighborhood over the next five years for careers in the medical and information technology fields.

The partnership will extend to the National Basketball Association's annual Fit Week campaign to encourage active, healthy lifestyles. The two organizations also will work together on a “Shoot Down Cancer” fundraising event at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in September.

"This is a long-term deal and partnership," Feigin said.

The future Bucks arena is under construction just north of the Bradley Center — southeast of the training facility and new medical clinic — and will open by fall 2018. The arena's parking structure is being built between W. Juneau and W. McKinley avenues, east of N. 6th St.