Gilbane, C.D. Smith crews place 110-foot skywalk connecting Hyatt to convention center

Crews from Gilbane | Smith have installed a skywalk connecting the Hyatt Regency with the $456 million convention center construction project in downtown Milwaukee.

It took crews 3-1/2 hours to lift the skywalk into place and Wisconsin Center District (WCD) officials said they would open the north building in May 2024.

The skywalk will connect the Hyatt Regency hotel to the Wisconsin Center north building, which is slated to be complete next year, a WCD spokesperson told The Daily Reporter. The bridge over Vel. R. Phillips Drive is 110 feet long and weighs around 110,000 pounds. The previous skywalk connected the hotel with the Wisconsin Center south building, the spokesperson added.

“Once the expansion is completed in early 2024 the skywalk will reopen and guests will be able to easily travel between the Hyatt and the Wisconsin Center again,” the spokesperson said.

As previously reported by The Daily Reporter, the Wisconsin Center and Robert W. Baird Co. entered an agreement to have the latter get naming rights for the convention center. The district had sought naming rights partners since 2020 and had talked with Baird since 2022, WCD officials said.

The center’s expansion project broke ground in October 2021 and seeks to double the building’s size. Gilbane and C.D. Smith are managing project construction.