MILWAUKEE — New finanical data from Milwaukee Public Museum leadership indicates more than three-quarters of their 240 million dollar fundraising goal for a new museum building has been reached.
Museum president and CEO Ellen Censky reported Tuesday to the Milwaukee County Committee on Parks and Culture that 191 million dollars has been raised for the new facility, when coupled with public funding. 105 million of those dollars comes from private donors. “As a reminder, this campaign has always been planneed to run throughout the plannign and construction process all the way to opening,” said Censky. Fundraising for the new building is expected to continue for another two years.
Last December, Vice President and General Manager of Mortensen Kurt Thuene told WTMJ concrete pouring on what will be the first and second stories of the approximately 200,000 square feet structure has already finished. Theune says the team is still on track for the museum’s planned early 2027 grand opening. Exterior work will continue through most of 2025, before the interior construction commences in 2026.
Amidst concerns over building costs increasing, Censky assured the board that due to guaranteed maximum price price agreements, supplies for the museum were bought at a pre-determined cost. The most expensive building material for the museum is steel, which Censky says has already been put in place.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: “We’re going to stick the landing on this one”: Work continues on new Milwaukee Public Museum
The financial report Tuesday also included an update on the status of the current museum facility. According to Censky, the property experienced severe icing during a stretch of very cold weather in January, with some single-pane windows accumulating two inches of ice.
“This is also due to the fact that the museum has no insulation on the outside,” said Censky.
The current museum building was built in 1963, and museum officials say it has too many years of deferred maintainence to deem it usable for the future. Milwaukee County has not shared ideas for what could occupy the building once the museum moves to 1310 North Sixth Street location.
As for that moving process, Censky says a plan is still being worked on for props at the current museum that won’t be displayed to the new location. The props that will be brought in have been chosen, but a full list has not been made public.
But a perceived lack of transparency on that process drew Cori Huston with PreserveMKE to ask Censky and the Board of Supervisors for more information on the plans for the dioramas, build-ins and portions of exhibits like the popular Streets of Old Milwaukee that don’t make it into the new museum.
“The visceral is going to be replaced by the virtual. Ultimately, it’s about having a citizen at the table about this. I’m here today because we feel that you have not been responsive,” directed Huston towards Censky and members of the committee. But Supervisor Steve Taylor responded by incidating there had been several opportunities for public comment on the future of the museum, with Chair Sheldon Wasserman adding that state representatives have also made their desires on the museum clear.
“I’m hearing there’s some lack of transparency, I don’t buy it,” said Taylor. “Maybe you’re not getting the answers you want.”
Censky noted an extra 15 staff members have been hired to help with the process.
TOP STORIES FROM THE WTMJ NEWSROOM:
- Teen arrested in connection to mother’s death in Caledonia
- Milwaukee Public Schools reaches contract agreement with new superintendent
- Inmate on the run in Dodge County
- Trump’s address to Congress showed the country’s stark partisan divide
- Bucks Dominate Fourth, Win 127-121 in Atlanta Behind Triple-Double from Giannis Antetokounmpo
