Wisconsin Center District seeks construction manager for $300M expansion

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Renderings depicting plans for the expansion of the Wisconsin Center District’s convention center in downtown Milwaukee. (Rendering courtesy of Populous)

The Wisconsin Center District is seeking a general contractor to oversee a $300 million overhaul of its downtown Milwaukee convention center.

The organization is planning an expansion and modernization of its downtown event space and hopes to begin construction in the first quarter of 2021. The Wisconsin Center District Board released an invitation to bid on Monday. Responses are due on Dec. 20 and the board will conduct interviews with companies on Jan. 6, according to the invitation.

The project calls for overhauling the existing Wisconsin Center building and adding onto a connected parking lot at the corner West Kilbourn Avenue and Vel R. Phillips Avenue. The bid invitation also asks for a study of possible connections to current and future adjacent buildings and the construction of an addition that will take the structure east to Vel R. Phillips Avenue. The Wisconsin Center District board had previously hired the consultant CAA ICON to manage the project.

“The WCD’s vision is to build a best in class facility that will attract meeting planners as a result of the facility’s flexible, innovative, technologically supported and operationally efficient spaces, while providing each attendee with a memorable Milwaukee enhanced visitor experience,” according to the invitation to bid. “The expansion must address the latest trends and support the expectations of the convention attendees and meeting planner as well as be adaptable to the market as changes occur.”

Plans to double the size of the center have been advancing this past year. The state’s 2019-2021 budget includes a provision adding $100 million onto the Legislature’s so-called moral-obligation pledge for new debt issued by the Wisconsin Center District. The pledge means the state would back up to $300 million worth of borrowing by the center district. The district oversees the operations of the convention space and venues such as the Miller High Life Theater.

The center district board aims to have an initial plan for the project and a construction budget completed by early March. The WCD Board is expected to consider financing in April or May and issue bonds in June, according to a timeline. Meanwhile, pre-construction work is scheduled to start in April and last through February 2021. Work on the expansion is to begin soon afterward. The project is to wrap up in the second quarter of 2023.

The project documents stipulate that bidders must have worked as a construction manager on at least two $100 million projects in the past five years.

“The expanded Wisconsin Center will be a building which provides superb, captivating, and buzz worthy experiences to all who enter,” according to the invitation to bid. “Those charged with bringing this vision to life can stand tall about their role in transforming the city they love into a not-to-be-missed destination.”