Work starts on $420M Wisconsin Center District expansion

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Wisconsin Center District officials marked the start of construction on a $420 million project of the downtown Milwaukee convention center on Thursday.

Work is underway to add 650,000 square feet of space to the Wisconsin Center by extending it into a city block on Kilbourn Avenue, between Vel R. Phillips Avenue and Sixth Street, that has served as a parking lot since 1998. The work, overseen by a joint venture of Gilbane and CD Smith, comes after Wisconsin Center officials approved financing for the project last December, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wisconsin Center officials say the larger space will help bring 100,000 more visitors to Milwaukee each year.

“Today’s groundbreaking is the formal celebration of our highly-anticipated $420 million expansion that has been years in the making,” said Marty Brooks, president and CEO of the WCD. “Doubling the size of the convention center allows us to execute multiple, simultaneous events bringing more visitors to Milwaukee to attend conferences and patronize local businesses.”

Wisconsin Center leaders have long discussed building an addition to a north-side parking lot that was left unoccupied when the convention venue went up 20 years ago. The expansion would roughly double the convention center’s current size to rival venues in other cities. Its features include 300,000 contiguous square feet of exhibit hall space, a rooftop ballroom and outdoor terraces, indoor parking and more than two dozen new meeting rooms. Work on the project is expected to wrap up in 2024.

Officials say the project could generate about $100 million in wages for construction crews and create about 1,150 direct construction jobs. It calls for at least 31% of the needed work to go to designated Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms and 25% going to minority-owned contractors. It also requires 40% of work hours go to city of Milwaukee residents.

Besides Gilbane and C.D. Smith, the contractors hired for the project include GRAEF, as a Milwaukee-based structural-engineering firm; Kapur & Associates, of Glendale, as a civil engineer; and Henderson Engineers, of Kansas City, for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. Gilbane and C.D. Smith are also working with DBE partners Cross Management Services and Prism Technical Management & Marketing Services. Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects and tvsdesign, of Atlanta, designed the expansion.

“This event marks the beginning of the Wisconsin Center’s thrilling next chapter and it will elevate Milwaukee in the ranks against our peer cities,” said Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee, in a statement. “An expanded convention center means more business, more visitors and more national exposure for Milwaukee and translates into billions of dollars in additional tourism spending in our community.”