Madison-based concert promoter Frank Productions and his concert promotion department FPC Live spoke to the public for the first time about the company’s proposed new venue in Milwaukee’s historic Third District. And reactions to the assignment have been mixed.

Frank Productions CEO Joel Plant and Charlie Goldstone, co-president of Frank Productions’ FPC Live, which would operate at the venue, spoke at the Milwaukee Public Market Tuesday night in the first of two public discussions, answering questions from attendees and the audience in person. on Zoom.

While some expressed support, others expressed fear that the location would be a horror to the condo’s citizens with a view of the proposed site, and that the progression could lead to noise and parking difficulties, among other fears.

The complex built from scratch and on two sites announced last month, one with capacity for another 4,000 people, the other with capacity for another 800 people, would host around 135 events a year, adding concerts and some personal receptions such as weddings, corporate events. meetings and fundraising events, Plant said Tuesday.

“We all agree that a vibrant, exciting, arts-focused downtown is not only important, but also fun and important to a city,” Plant said. “Milwaukee is a very strong live music market, and Milwaukee deserves to have those two places to prepare for the next 30 years of live music. “

“We fell in love with this community and we know that (the place) would have a very positive effect on each and every business here,” Goldstone said Tuesday. “With our venues in Madison, bars and restaurants live for event nights. “, when they earn a lot of money.

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Plant reported Tuesday night that the site, built on what is now a service lot, would increase the value of assets in the area, without providing express data, basing its projections on other cities with new size sites.

Traffic will increase, but Plant is under pressure that a new venue would not mean a “Summerfest redux,” referring to the country’s largest music festival, which is held annually in the third district of Maier Festival Park, resulting in road closures and many safety issues and police officers directing traffic.

“The idea that a room with a capacity of 4000 will still house another 4,000 people is not true,” Plant said. , however, at this point we are talking about less than 5,000 fans. “

The construction is designed in such a way that the front lines form an open inner courtyard directly in front of the smaller room, Plant said, while travel trucks will remain inside the complex, Goldstone said.

Frank Productions also had initial conversations with the Milwaukee Police Department about vehicular traffic, and Plant expected traffic to and from the site from the north. Aside from the imaginable barricades on a street in front of the site, Plant said there would be no additional road closures. in the domain for occasions on the site.

The reactions of those in the public consultation were combined: two people, one supportive and one critical, embarked on a back and forth on Tuesday night.

“I agree it’s a smart concept, but not for this neighborhood,” said one resident involved, prompting a pro-venue attendee to reply, “You’ll love it when you open, be there, and I’ll see a smile on your face. “

Asked about considerations that spectators will take all loose parking on Erie Street before paying for parking on nearby lots, Plant said Frank Productions would “work with the maximum optimal legal option” to minimize that impact.

A resident of a nearby condo expressed fear that her view would now be obstructed through the west wall of the site.

“There are many features to make the construction as discreet and as possible,” Plant said in response.

There’s also the question of whether a new venue would take business away from Milwaukee’s existing venues, such as rave, Shank Hall and the Pabst and Riverside theaters.

“This is not a Milwaukee site unlike other Milwaukee sites,” Plant said. “This is Milwaukee capable of attracting the kind of entertainment that a city of this extension needs and deserves. “

FPC Live is one of the world’s largest concert promoters, ranking 33rd in the ticketing price for 2021 according to industry publication Pollstar. Frank Productions, established in 1964, sold a majority stake to Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, in 2018. Live Nation does not have a majority stake in FPC Live, Plant said at Tuesday’s meeting, and Frank continues to operate as an independent company.

Since the sale to Live Nation, Frank Productions has grown considerably, especially in Milwaukee. Here, Frank’s FPC Live acts as a promoter of the Fiserv Forum concerts and, outside of Summerfest, exclusively presents concerts at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater and the BMO. Harris Pavilion at Maier Festival Park.

The proposed 108,000-square-foot site would be south of the Summerfest administrative buildings and east of Erie and Jackson Streets. Summerfest’s parent company, the nonprofit Milwaukee World Festival Inc. , owns the land; the land would be leased to Marquee Ventures, a real estate company related to Frank Productions, which would expand the property, with FPC Live managing the site.

An opening is tentatively scheduled for the current part of 2023, with a structure scheduled to begin this year. But FPC Live would first want approvals from the Third Historic District Architectural Review Board and the City of Milwaukee’s Board of Port Commissioners.

Last month, the Architectural Review Committee reviewed initial plans for the site, designed through Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects. Plant said Tuesday that the amended plans will be in a position for further evaluation at the Feb. 16 review committee meeting.

The assembly of the Board of Port Commissioners will take office on February 10.

Alde. Robert Bauman, whose district includes the third district, has introduced a land rezoning move on which he would operate with the City Development Department, in an effort to make sure the Milwaukee City Council has a say in pre-allocation. to construction

Early Tuesday, the Zoning, Districts and Development Committee voted to initiate the imaginable zoning change. If approved by the entire council, a detailed zoning proposal can be sent to the plan-making commission on March 7 and to the committee on April 12.

Even if the assignment were rezoned into one that did not allow theaters, the proposed venue would be protected under existing zoning, according to a report by city attorney Tearman Spencer.

An operating position will also want licenses for alcoholic beverages and public entertainment issued through the Joint Council Licensing Committee. However, there may be a way for the board to have a say in the proposal.

The project, as recently designed, would have its front facing east towards the Maier Festival Park.

This would require the servitude of the city’s Port Commissioners Council, which controls a personal service path at the progression site.

Although those easements are not reviewed through the Joint Council, Bauman cautioned that the council can simply vote on them.

It is possible that the assignment will be redesigned to have its front facing west towards Erie Street, allowing the progression to continue without servitude.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Plant said Frank Productions did not need to take that route, noting that it is better for the citizens of the domain to have east-facing vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Bauman also raised some other imaginable point for discussion.

Plant said Frank Productions is in talks with Milwaukee World Festival Inc. , which rents the land for its own occasions, to access more than 1800 event spaces on the site.

But most of the parking masses belong to the city, which could have an impact, Bauman suggested.

Frank Productions and the Milwaukee World Festival are also contemplating the domain in front of Maier Festival Park’s south gate for a designated vehicle-sharing pick-up and drop-off point for on-site events, Plant said.

It would not be available without problems via public transportation, Plant admitted, which Bauman criticized Tuesday night.

Bauman also criticized the Milwaukee World Festival on Tuesday, asking why a tax-exempt organization gets into the real estate rental business and hinting that the organization might pressure Frank Productions regarding citizens’ considerations of dominance over the place.

“Could (Milwaukee World Festival) play a more proactive role in doing more to respect the neighborhood?They could, absolutely,” Bauman said.

FPC Live will organize a moment of consultation of public contributions from 5:30 p. m. until 7 p. m. m. on January 18 at the Milwaukee Public Market, 400 N. Water St. La capacity is mandatory and the mask is mandatory. The assembly will also be held on Zoom.

Tom Daykin of the Sentinel Journal contributed to this report.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel. com. Follow him on Twitter on @pietlevy or facebook on facebook. com/PietLevyMJS.

Piet also talks about concerts, music and more in “TAP’d In” with Evan Rytlewski. Listen to him at 8 a. m. o. m. on Thursdays on WYMS-FM (88. 9), or anywhere you get his podcasts.

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