(UPDATED) Group pitches $133M plan to restore the Mitchell Park Domes

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A group has presented a $133.4 million plan to restore the Mitchell Park Domes after the conservatory faced deferred maintenance for years.

The Friends of the Domes, Milwaukee County Parks and Madison-based The Alexander Company on Tuesday presented plans to restore the existing dome structures, expand the gift shop, create a children’s learning space, build a new café, a new courtyard and construct a nature learning center. The project would also bring improvements to Mitchell Park. The partners would take over ownership of the conservatory from Milwaukee County, but the park will remain in county hands.

In 2016, the domes temporarily closed after a piece of concrete fell from the ceiling of one of the structures. Conversations over the domes’ capital and maintenance needs started and were put on hold due to the pandemic. The county looked at different avenues for what to do with the structure, including demolition.

The Friends of the Domes’ project is split into two phases: The first phase is budgeted at $107.4 million and includes expanding the gift shop, creating the “Little Sprouts Dome” learning center in the fourth dome and building a new café.

The second phase includes a new courtyard and early plans for a 25,000-square-foot, two-story learning center building. The second phase is budgeted at $26 million.

The building would be used to stage field trips and build capacity so the domes can rekindle partnerships with local schools looking to integrate domes trips in their curriculum, said Christa Beall Diefenbach, executive director of Friends of the Domes. The current children’s center space is the most frequently booked space in the domes, she added.

Adjusting programming and operations is part of the Friends of the Domes’ goal to make the domes’ business model sustainable, Diefenbach said. That could include extensions of hours and programming after the project is completed.

The partners will pursue funding through private donations, tax credits, federal and state grants and a six-year, $30 million commitment from Milwaukee County.

Friends of the Domes will aim to get the domes on the National Register of Historic Places, which is required to get a $26 million historic tax credit to help cover redevelopment, Beall Diefanbach said.

If the project is approved, the domes won’t be on the county’s ledger as a liability for much longer, partners added. The county’s Committee on Parks and Culture referred the project to the county finance committee.

If the county chooses to demolish the domes instead, it will cost $11.4 million, the presentation showed.

Friends of the Domes will use 2024 for the silent phase of a capital campaign and secure lead gifts for a campaign in 2025, the presentation showed. In 2026 and 2027, the partners will start the public phase of the dome improvements. Construction of the new building and courtyard is expected to start in 2030.