City planning staff highlight 2025: 425+ housing units, zoning changes and major redevelopment projects

Milwaukee — City planning staff on March 9 delivered a comprehensive review of 2025 development activity, telling the City Plan Commission that approvals last year helped facilitate more than 425 new housing units — roughly 270 of them affordable — and several large private and public projects across the city.

“Tanya,” a city planning staff member, told the commission that the body heard 50 files in 2025 across 13 of 15 aldermanic districts and that the majority focused on zoning actions to support new construction and business expansion. “In 2025, files that came before CPC resulted in the approval of over 425 new housing units including approximately 270 affordable units,” she said.

Staff listed several headline projects and zoning initiatives:

• Deer District, Block 5: Approval of a full‑block development expected to deliver about 269 affordable residences and roughly 13,000 sq ft of commercial space, along with a new Milwaukee Area Technical College fieldhouse that replaces surface parking.

• Brady Corporation: A proposed expansion of Brady Corporation’s manufacturing space by up to 100,000 sq ft at its long‑time headquarters, presented as evidence of private investment in the city.

• West Basin stormwater project: The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District requested rezoning of seven properties to parks to build an integrated system of three dry stormwater basins addressing recurrent flooding in the 30th Street corridor; staff said the West Basin will have an estimated capacity of 31,000,000 gallons.

• Zoning code changes: Staff recapped adoption of a new RT5 district allowing small multifamily buildings of three to eight units and citywide legalization of accessory dwelling units (backyard cottages) to expand missing‑middle housing options.

• Bronzeville Creative Arts and Tech Hub: Phase 1 completed with 60 residential units (a mix of affordable and market rate); Phase 2 will include a 29,000 sq ft technology hub.

• Cultural infrastructure: The planned Nature and Cultural Museum of Wisconsin (the new Milwaukee Public Market Museum site) is under construction at McKinley and 6th and is expected to open in early 2027, staff said.

Staff emphasized community engagement in 2025: the housing‑element process included more than 2,000 residents and stakeholders in meetings and drew nearly 10,000 website engagements. Planning staff said zoning updates tied to the housing element are underway this year.

The presentation covered additional reuse, facade and business‑expansion projects citywide, and highlighted several development incentive zone approvals that included negotiated design and pedestrian improvements. Staff closed by thanking commissioners, project partners and interns for their work in 2025 and said the department will continue with zoning code updates and community engagement this year.