Hub640 joins growing art scene in Westown
The arts continue to grow on West Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee as another mural was completed in the neighborhood. The latest is in the former Boston Store building that Chicago developer North Wells Capital is renovating to attract new companies.
North Wells hired Milwaukee artist Jeremy Novy for a lobby painting depicting a migration of geese. Novy is best known around Milwaukee for his frequent paintings of colorful Koi fish, some of which now adorn the landing outside the West Wisconsin Avenue building’s main entrance.
Tony Lindsay, North Wells principal, said the company invested in the mural because public art is increasingly common these days, and it adds to the quickly changing Westown area. The mural is designed to draw people into the building and generates new discussion around it, he said.
After years of stagnation, the Westown neighborhood has become the most active development market downtown, with projects including the ongoing renovation of the former Shops of Grand Avenue that connects to North Wells Capital’s building.
North Wells is courting tenants for its building at 640 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. Rebranded as Hub640, it formerly was the corporate offices of The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. and housed the Boston Store connected to the Grand Avenue.
“The activity in Westown remains strong and the public perspective of that neighborhood is wonderful,” Lindsay said. “They (prospective tenants) come in knowing and loving Westown, and now we just have to sell them on the building itself.”
The arts are increasingly part of the turnaround of West Wisconsin Avenue. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra kick-started the momentum with its restoration of the former Warner Grand Theatre at Wisconsin Avenue and Second Street. The Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District No. 21 hired Milwaukee artist Emma Daisy Gertel for a colorful floral mural intended to mark the western gateway into the neighborhood. A proposed city plaza opposite Vel R. Phillips Avenue from Hub640 would feature a pedestal for public sculptures.
Now national developers who are investing in the area are commissioning new artworks for their buildings. Earlier this summer, New York City investor Time Equities Inc. hired German artist Claudia Chaseling to paint a mural in a well-trafficked spot in its lobby.
The mural is the latest change to the former Bon-Ton building, which was left vacant after the retailer shut down last year. North Wells is investing about $8 million into a renovation to clear its first floor for new stores and the upper levels for multi-tenant offices. There’s still one large retailer considering the entire first floor, Lindsay said.
Renovations will soon start on the second level to transform parts of the former Boston Store into amenities including a fitness center, conference room and tenant lounge, Lindsay said.
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