Kosciuszko Community Needs Planning Study

Milwaukee County partnered with Quorum Architects to provide a series of public engagement efforts with the people who use the Kosciuszko Community Center, and the community surrounding it. The purpose of this study was to:

• Get feedback on the programs and services offered, via survey and open house
• Evaluate the physical building as well as the financial and economic impact of future updates to the center
• Design concept plans, incorporating stakeholder feedback into the community needs planning study
• Provide a final report to the County for professional recommendations and next steps

Meetings were held in September 2021. The final report was presented to the Parks, Energy, and Environment Committee on 5/24/22. See Milwaukee County - File #: 22-539 (legistar.com) for additional details.

Background

The Kosciuszko Community Center is a two-floor, 58,000 square foot building built in 1981 located at 2201 S. 7th Street in Milwaukee. The Center houses a fitness center/weight room, boxing ring, gym and community programming provided by third party partners. In the 2014 adopted capital budget, funding for planning and design of the HVAC system was appropriated. Design was completed in 2015 and has awaited construction funding. The VFA replacement value of the building is approximately $11m dollars and the estimated cost through 2018 for replacement of the HVAC system was $3.7m. In the spring of 2019, the facility was forced to temporarily close due to electrical issues. In light of the limited resources available to Milwaukee County, the Parks department would like to undergo a planning effort to determine the most sound approach for long-term success for the Kosciuszko Community Center. The planning effort would utilize community outreach related to the current building use, its anticipated capital needs and the exploration of a new facility.