The Bucks have "submitted updated, detailed plans" to Milwaukee city officials for an entertainment center that will be "developed just east of the basketball team's future arena," according to a front-page piece by Tom Daykin of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. The plans "don't mention names of prospective restaurants or retailers," but they do "show a glassy building, with up to four levels, that fills the area." The entertainment block will include a "year-round beer garden, and a wall with a large outdoor TV screen, within a covered pedestrian walkway in the middle of the development." The design, by architecture firm Gensler and Milwaukee-based Rinka Chung Architecture, also "features balconies, terraces and rooftop spaces." The Bucks in a statement said that the design touches "include exposed steel, aluminum, wood and brick -- homages to Milwaukee's industrial heritage." The outdoor public plaza will "feature year-round events that could include farmers markets, outdoor concerts, festivals and a seasonal ice skating rink." There also will be a promenade "along the arena featuring public art, gardens, a signature water feature and grassy areas." The privately financed entertainment center will "replace a city-owned parking structure" and will "feature restaurants, taverns and retail space." Milwaukee Department of City Development spokesperson Jeff Fleming said that the design plans "will likely undergo Plan Commission review on Dec. 5, and Common Council review in January." However, Bucks Dir of Communications Mark Rosenberg said that the plans being submitted to the city "aren't final." The Bucks plan to "begin construction next spring, and open the entertainment center, along with the new arena," in fall '18. Brookfield-based Hunzinger Construction will "manage its construction" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 11/17).
