Proposed Midtown Center redevelopment, revised plan includes library

Vacant since 2016. Tonight there is progress in the redevelopment of what used to be the Midtown Center Walmart. Plans there include a public library. Christina Van Zyl is in the newsroom with how the city's first listening session went. Hey. Hey, Kim and Ben, this is the first time project leaders with the Milwaukee Public Library heard from the public about the vision for the Midtown branch that will replace the Capitol Branch Library, but that will stay open until this new location is complete. So this is the vacant Walmart and the library. would sit in the front on the northwest corner. The Milwaukee Plan Commission approved a revised version of the project back in July. During tonight's listening session, people talked about what they hope to see, which includes eating space, sound mitigation, and seeing staff when you walk in the front door. Other topics like meeting rooms, teens, and kids space, also layout, were brought up. Now the library, it's not the only plan for that space inside the Walmart. The rest of that project includes affordable housing. There's also 200 units of housing that are going to be built in the former Walmart parking lot. That's going to probably take off within about a month or so. But that's going to be happening while we go through our process and then we'll be doing construction as well. So there'll be some overlap. Project leaders for the library say they are targeting a grand opening for late 2028 or early 2029. Again, this is still very early in the stages of that all. This is the first time the public and those project leaders were discussing the vision. In the newsroom, Christina Van Zyl to Fox 6 News. All right, Christina, thank you. So much real estate that's just not being used right now. We wait to see what develops. All right, let's go to weather. And I don't want the snow to develop quite yet. It is November. Like, we got to, it's going to happen at some point. It is, but let's wait until December.