Milwaukee Bucks Enter The Placemaking Business
The Milwaukee Bucks advance plans to construct a community gathering space adjacent to the new Wisconsin Entertainment & Sports Center that will serve as a year-round hub for activity in downtown Milwaukee. Following the lead set by other franchises, professional sports teams are becoming real estate developers seeking to create vibrant places that attract commerce on non-game days.
The Buck’s entertainment district follows a trend that has increasingly seen professional sports franchises become urban placemakers, acting as a real estate developers seeking to improve the areas immediately surrounding arenas and ballparks.
Saint Louis Ballpark Village (BPV) is a dining and entertainment district adjacent to Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, occupying the site of the previous Busch Stadium. The $100 million first phase of BPV was completed in 2014 and consists of 150,000 square feet of retail shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and 720 parking spaces.
Image Credit: Ballpark Village
Image Credit: Ballpark Village
Plans for a $220 million second phase of BPV were recently announced, with ground breaking scheduled for 2017. The 550,000 square foot project will complete a full build-out of Clark Street with a 29-story luxury, high-rise residential tower with 300 units; additional retail, restaurant and entertainment space; structured parking; and the first new Class-A office building built in downtown St. Louis in nearly thirty years.
Image Credit: Ballpark Village
Image Credit: Ballpark Village
The Yard is a pop up shipping container village located on a waterfront lot adjacent to San Francisco’s AT&T Park. Created by China Basin Ballpark Co, the real estate arm of the San Francisco Giants, this temporary use of space is designed to be a harbinger for future development. Eventually, China Basin intends to build a mixed-use development project and public park on the site. The Yard combines restaurants, a food truck park, a bar and retail pop up shops constructed from shipping containers with a series of programmed community events. As it stands, the plan is to keep The Yard operational through 2017 until the development team can begin vertical construction on the underlying lot.
Image Credit: M Field
Image Credit: M Field
Image Credit: M Field