The Metcalfe Park Liberation Hub, a forthcoming multi-use community center, cleared a key hurdle on Monday, Aug. 17, after the City Plan Commission approved a measure to rezone the site of the building.
The commission approved rezoning the future liberation hub at 2600-2606 N. 38th St. from residential to neighborhood-serving commercial.
The ordinance will go to the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, then to the full Common Council in September. If both bodies approve it, the measure will go to Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s desk for signature.
The new designation would clear a path for Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, the organization behind the project, to move forward with construction.
The rezoning measure was one of two items approved at Monday’s meeting.
The Liberation Hub, along with the creation of a new neighborhood improvement district, represents two resident-driven efforts to encourage development and investment in Metcalfe Park during an extended period of commercial disinvestment.
The Liberation Hub is meant to fill several gaps in the neighborhood, according to Metcalfe Park Community Bridges Deputy Director Melody McCurtis.
“We don’t have a café. We don’t have a bookstore. We don’t have a soup kitchen. We don’t have an intergenerational community hub that everybody can go to,” McCurtis said. “You’ve got the Boys & Girls Club, but that’s just for the youth.”
Residents and homeowners like Sheila Milton and Koren Dennison spoke in support of the zoning change during the meeting.
Milton said the redevelopment project will be a positive asset for all age groups in the community given the lack of alternatives in the area.
State representatives Margaret Arney and Kalan Haywood appeared in person to express their support for the project.
“What is happening with Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, or Metcalfe Park as a whole, is truly inspiring … Residents are taking action. They’re not waiting for someone to come and save them,” Haywood said.
“I wish I could take what’s happening in Metcalfe Park and use it around the county, use it around the state. This is the blueprint.”
About the Metcalfe Park Liberation Hub
Construction at the site of the Metcalfe Park Liberation Hub is already underway, but Monday’s zoning approval allows the long-vacant building at 2600 N. 38th St. to be redeveloped for neighborhood-serving commercial uses like basic shopping and service needs rather than solely for residential use.
The Hub will be redeveloped in two phases.
First, the existing 2600 N. 38th Street building will be redeveloped to include a community meeting space, bookstore and cafe, soup kitchen, food distribution center and laundry facilities.
Community Bridges also plans to move from its current rented office space at 3624 W. North Ave. to the Liberation Hub in April 2027, when the first phase is expected to be complete.
In the second phase, the project will expand onto the vacant lot next door. The additional space will include another multi-use building, a central courtyard, a rooftop seating area and a six-car parking lot. Current fundraising and construction timelines project a March 2028 opening.
Both buildings will be ADA-compliant.
The entire project is expected to cost nearly $2 million, according to Community Bridges.
The first phase is projected to cost $750,000, while the second phase is projected to cost $1.2 million, according to McCurtis.
In February, Milwaukee County approved a $250,000 grant for the redevelopment.
Over 50 letters of support were submitted to the commission ahead of Monday’s hearing, including several from elected officials.
“This zoning change, in my opinion, is an investment that is long overdue in Metcalfe Park,” wrote Arney.
State Sen. LaTonya Johnson wrote that the project is different because residents “have helped shape the vision from the beginning” and are asking the city “for the chance to continue that work.”
April Quevedo covers Metcalfe Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact: aquevedo@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Metcalfe Park Liberation Hub moves ahead after Plan Commission approves rezoning measure
Reporting by April Quevedo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By April Quevedo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
