Milwaukee Public Museum construction starts with small business goals

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The $240 million Milwaukee Public Museum project on Tuesday broke ground during a ceremony at the Trade Hotel in Milwaukee. Project officials said the 200,000-square-foot, six-story facility will be completed in early 2027.

In June, Mortenson will start earthwork, footings and foundations for the future facility at Sixth and McKinley Streets in the Haymarket neighborhood of Milwaukee, said Katie Sanders, the chief planning officer for the MPM. On Wednesday, crews will start lifting sub-slabs and remove a sewer to prepare the site, she added.

The museum project comes with a minimum of 20% goal of construction spending to go to minority-, women- and diverse-owned business enterprises, Sanders said. The project is also under the city’s Residence Preferred Program to include at least 40% of labor from the most impacted zip codes in Milwaukee. MPM has gone “above and beyond” by requiring 50% of the workforce to come from Milwaukee County, she added.

Sanders emphasized the museum’s workforce goals were both self-imposed and had committed to it through funding arrangements. MPM hired Milwaukee-based Cross Management Services to support its recruitment efforts. She added the museum was confident it would meet those goals.

Construction will be a “project in a project,” as general contractor Mortenson will work with ALLCON, a local women-owned business, and has coached the firm on construction management over the last few years, Sanders said. ALLCON will be the general contractor for the project’s first floor and will focus on small firms that wouldn’t have otherwise been able to bid on larger-scope items, she added.

Mortenson also entered into a project labor agreement with its union trades, with the exception of the International Brotherhood of Operating Engineers Local 139. Terry McGowan, the president and business manager of the operators’ union, didn’t immediately respond to an email for comment.

Tuesday’s groundbreaking at The Trade featured Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld and Dr. Ellen Censky, president and CEO of the museum, as speakers. Present at the event were officials from several Tribal nations and performers from local K-12 schools.

Johnson called the project a driver for the city’s growth. Project officials called it the “largest cultural project” in the state.

The project used a $45 million grant from Milwaukee County and $40 million from the state. So far, donors have raised $165 million, according to museum officials. The museum must raise another $150 million from private donors by the end of 2026, Censky said at a county meeting.

The new museum will include two gardens designed by GGN: one near the museum entrance and another on the Bucyrus Rooftop Terrace. The project also includes a 50,000-square-foot storage space off site for collections. Ennead Architects and Milwaukee-based Kahler Slater designed the future museum.