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More than a facelift
Project team gives Milwaukee a new gateway
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Housing an Amtrak station, a Greyhound bus depot and a Wisconsin Department of Transportation traffic operation center, the Milwaukee Intermodal Station serves as a gateway to those entering and leaving the city.
“This building speaks to the commitment of [Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett] for better-looking buildings, buildings that work well and that serve as a landmark of civic and cultural pride,” said Rocky Marcoux, commissioner of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development. “While many cities are in full retreat on their infrastructure, the city of Milwaukee is advancing with the state and other partners in improving ours.”
Designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects and built by CG Schmidt Inc., the renovation of the former Amtrak station goes beyond the original plan of giving the 1965 modernist-styled building just a modest update.
The city provided $6 million in tax-incremental financing to ensure the building was aesthetically and functionally pleasing. State and federal governments contributed too.
“The original budget was about $2.5 million,” said Bill Rusk, Eppstein Uhen project manager. “It ended up being $15 [million] or $16 million. It’s become a transportation hub of people coming in and out of the city. The view was a facelift of an old building wasn’t enough.”
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Project Essentials Project
name: Milwaukee Intermodal Station
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The new design features the addition of a three-story glass galleria. The room has crisscrossing white beams, meant to suggest the movement and connection of transportation, and a glass curtain that lets sunlight illuminate during the day and creates a dramatic street presence at night.
Two main entrances were built to serve Greyhound and Amtrak customers, said David Grayson, senior project manager with CG Schmidt, and a three-lane drop-off and pick-up area was installed in front of the building to give taxis a separate waiting area.
“The traffic flow is so much nicer,” Grayson said. “Before, everyone had to use the two front doors, and when trains arrive, you have 100 to 200 people get off at one time.”
Crews accommodated train passengers during construction by drastically moving their entrance four times in a 16-month period.
“It’s about raising the bar with design in Milwaukee,” Rusk said, “and we hope we’ve done that.”