NOW BY THE NUMBERS

NOW

Construction finally begins for The Couture

By Alex Zank, staff writer

Construction of The Couture is finally underway, nearly 9 years after it was first proposed and 50 years after permits were pulled for downtown Milwaukee’s last 40-plus-story building, the nearby U.S. Bank Center.

Developer Rick Barrett said he did some archival research at City Hall recently and uncovered that fact. Permits for the U.S. Bank building were pulled in April 1972, while The Couture contractors pulled permits in April 2021.

Crews under the supervision of general contractor, Madison-based J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., recently broke apart concrete and

BY THE NUMBERS

Direct visitor spending in Milwaukee County fell 40%, a decline of $877 MILLION

in 2020, according to VISIT Milwaukee’s analysis of data from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.

unloaded excavation equipment at The Couture site as members of the media were invited to watch visible construction work commence and get an update from the project team.

The Couture is a $188 million, 44-story tower that will be built at 909 E. Michigan St., first proposed by Barrett in 2012. It is to include 322 residential units, 50,000 square feet of retail space and a public transit center, among other things. Barrett’s firm, Barrett-Lo Visionary Development, is the project developer.

The construction start for The Couture is a major milestone for Barrett, who also developed the 30-story Moderne at 1141 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

“The Moderne is the largest residential tower west of the (Milwaukee) River,” Barrett said. “(The Couture) will be the largest residential tower in the state.”

The 42-story, 601-foot-tall U.S. Bank Center will remain the tallest building in the state. The Couture will be more than 500 feet tall and will be the fourth tallest building in Milwaukee, according to Emporis.

“We’ll have to build another one. … We’ll definitely have to breach the U.S. Bank building at some point,” said Barrett with a smile.

Construction crews for The Couture will spend much of the first year performing demolition and excavation work. They will dig around 60 feet into the ground, where two sublevels of parking will be built, said Eric Wynn, general manager of Findorff’s Milwaukee operations.

The equipment on site as work began will be used to tear up and remove the existing concrete slab.

The sewer line on the west side of the site will be relocated.

“That’s going to be integral to getting done in the next two to three months, along with the mass excavation,” Wynn said.

About 15 trucks will average four or five trips to and from the site each day removing soil and other excavated material, said Wynn. The soil will be taken to one of three sites, based on its classification, he said.

Vertical construction for The Couture is slated to start next year.

Barrett-Lo has already preleased about 30 apartments, mostly to suburban residents looking to downsize and move downtown. Those units are mostly on the top floors, Barrett said.

A heavier preleasing push won’t happen for another year. Barrett-Lo is working with Lincoln Property Co. on the apartment leasing.

JLL’s Chicago office is handling leasing for The Couture’s 50,000 square feet of retail space. n