Tom Daykin

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Bucks have submitted updated, detailed plans to city officials for an entertainment center that will be developed just east of the basketball team's future arena.

Those plans, provided Wednesday to the Department of City Development, don't mention names of prospective restaurants or retailers.

But they do show a glassy building, with up to four levels, that fills the area now occupied by a former parking structure east of N. 4th St., between W. Highland and W. Juneau avenues.

The entertainment block will include a year-round beer garden, and a wall with a large outdoor TV screen, within a covered pedestrian walkway in the middle of the development.

That walkway will run from N. Old World Third St. to an outdoor plaza west of the entertainment center. That plaza will replace one closed block of N. 4th St. and will connect the entertainment center to the future Bucks arena.

The entertainment center design, by Gensler and Milwaukee-based Rinka Chung Architecture, also features balconies, terraces and rooftop spaces. Its design touches include exposed steel, aluminum, wood and brick — homages to Milwaukee's industrial heritage, according to a statement from the Bucks.

The outdoor public plaza will feature year-round events that could include farmers markets, outdoor concerts, festivals and a seasonal ice skating rink, according to the Bucks.

There also will be a promenade along the arena featuring public art, gardens, a signature water feature and grassy areas.

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The entertainment center will replace a city-owned parking structure.

The city transferred that property in October to a Bucks affiliate, Deer District LLC. Its contractor, Veit & Co., recently began demolishing the parking structure.

Deer District is building the Bucks arena west of N. 4th St., just north of the BMO Harris Bradley Center. That $524 million project, including a new parking structure north of W. Juneau Ave. and east of N. 6th St., features $250 million in state, county and city funds.

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The privately financed entertainment development will feature restaurants, taverns and retail space. The detailed design plans will likely undergo Plan Commission review on Dec. 5, and Common Council review in January, said Jeff Fleming, Department of City Development spokesman.

The plans being submitted to the city aren't final, said Mark Rosenberg, Bucks director of communications. He said the building size could increase or decrease depending on how much space is eventually leased to the entertainment center's future tenants.

Deer District plans to begin construction next spring, and open the entertainment center, along with the new arena, in fall 2108. Brookfield-based Hunzinger Construction will manage its construction.

The council previously approved general conceptual plans for the entertainment center, and previously agreed to close one block of N. 4th St. for the outdoor plaza.

“This new space will be a transformational addition to the community and a year-round hub for activity in downtown Milwaukee,” Bucks President Peter Feigin said, in a statement.