New Milwaukee museum nears fundraising goal amid rising costs

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By TOM DAYKIN

USA Today Network

Milwaukee Public Museum‘s fundraising campaign for its new building has reached nearly 90% of the campaign’s original goal.

But the project’s costs are increasing due to inflation and tariffs.

That’s according to a March 3 presentation by museum executives to the County Board’s Committee on Parks and Culture.

That new Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin, under construction at North Sixth Street and West McKinley Avenue, will open in 2027 – replacing the dilapidated Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St.

The cost of designing and constructing the new museum and its exhibits was estimated at $200 million. Additional costs include $20 million for the museum’s endowment and $20 million to move the collections.

The museum has raised more than $212 million, or around 88% of that $240 million goal, CEO and President Ellen Censky told committee members. That includes 47 gifts of $1 million and higher, she said.

“I would say we have a lot to celebrate here,” Censky said.

Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman called it good news that should silence critics who raised doubts about the museum’s ability raise the funds. That includes $45 million from the county and $40 million from the state.

Censky said a campaign seeking “smaller gifts” starts this fall.

She also said inflation and tariffs had raised project costs since the $240 million goal was announced in 2018.

After finding ways to cut construction costs, the museum is now seeking 6% more, for a new total of around $254 million, Censky said. She told Wasserman the museum won’t seek additional county funds.

Along with private donations, the museum plans to seek $5 million in federal grants to complete the campaign.

Censky also updated committee members about the current museum’s operations. That includes the loss of both elevators after a motor burned out on Jan. 19 − when the museum was crowded due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

One elevator remains down, she said, leading to waits of 20 to 30 minutes to use it on busy days.

“It is critical we move to a new museum,” Censky said.

Housing could replace current museum

Also, the museum this fall will begin offering to give away its old furniture and other items to county government departments, other museums, and nonprofit groups, Censky said.

The museum’s exhibits built into the building, such as the Streets of Old Milwaukee structures, are owned by Milwaukee County – which also owns the museum. County officials will determine their fate.

The exhibit structures would be “very expensive to deconstruct,” Censky said. The new museum will include a Milwaukee Revealed gallery which is to be the successor to Streets of Old Milwaukee.

Demolishing the museum complex and selling the 3.7-acre site could bring up to 550 new housing units, according to a December report from County Executive David Crowley’s administration.

It would cost an estimated $12.5 million to $13.5 million to demolish the buildings, the report said. The cleared site’s value is estimated at $7.4 million to $9 million.

Still, that option is more feasible than selling the buildings for adaptive reuse, it said.

The main museum building, which opened in 1963, is affected by years of deferred maintenance.

The two newest portions, the former Discovery World Building and the Daniel M. Soref Theater, are in good condition, the report said. But they would be difficult to adapt for new uses.