Historic Preservation Commission Meeting – August 3, 2026
Historic Preservation Commission Meeting – August 3, 2026
The Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission met on August 3, 2026, to consider 27 certificates of appropriateness for properties in various historic districts, review minutes, and receive updates. Items ranged from minor repairs to major rehabilitation projects. The commission approved most items, held two for redesign, and deferred two pending further plans.
Consent Calendar
- Items 7–27 (staff-approved certificates): Approved unanimously. These included changes to jump porches, roof repairs, window replacements, HVAC upgrades, parapet restoration, siding and fence work, handrails, steps, landscaping, and masonry repairs across multiple historic districts (Brady Street, North Point North, East Side Commercial, Brewers Hill, West Avenues West, Concordia, Grant Boulevard, North Point South, Lake Drive Estates, Sherman Boulevard, and others).
- Item 28 – Minutes from the July 6, 2026 meeting: Approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Shallon de McCory (owner of 107 W. Brown Street, representative of Brewcitybnbs Company) – Expressed willingness to redesign the proposed deck and patio doors in a more historic style consistent with the Brewers Hill district. She noted that the AI-generated rendering was not final and that she uses her properties to house families displaced by fires or floods.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 (260161) – Infill of one door at 2665 N. Lake Drive, North Point North Historic District (Anna Timms & Craig Rigby). Staff recommended approval with conditions (Portland cement stucco matching original). Commissioners had no questions. Motion passed unanimously.
- Item 2 (260404) – New patio doors and deck at 107 W. Brown Street, Brewers Hill Historic District (Brewcitybnbs Company). Staff recommended denial, citing that the large deck and enlarged opening would make the side elevation appear primary, conflicting with district guidelines. The applicant spoke and expressed openness to a smaller, more appropriate design. Commission voted to hold the item to the next meeting for revised plans.
- Item 3 (260405) – Demolition of a garage at 2328 E. Back Bay Street, North Point South Historic District (Brewcitybnbs Company). Staff had not received final plans. Motion to hold to next month passed.
- Item 4 (260406) – New garage and patio doors at the same address. Also held to next month for lack of final plans.
- Item 5 (260410) – Rehabilitation of the Grand Department Store / Mitchell Market Place, 1101 W. Historic Mitchell Street (Zuwena Cotton). Staff presented a detailed plan including masonry cleaning, window repair, new glazing, skylights, and signage removal. Concerns were raised about the proposed acidic cleaner for limestone; staff recommended phasing and testing. The project’s architect (Courtney Reagan) accepted all conditions. Motion to approve passed. Note: this building was previously slated for demolition but the Common Council overruled the commission’s denial.
- Item 6 (260376) – Turner Hall (1034 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.), exterior structural repairs and masonry work (Milwaukee Turners). Staff recommended approval with a condition to use type O or NHL lime mortar instead of type N mortar on Cream City brick. The structural engineer (Jeff Bean) explained the temporary stabilization using steel channels to address facade separation. Executive Director Emilio De Tori noted long-term plans for a historic structures report. Motion to approve with conditions passed.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Items 1, 5, 6 (with conditions), and the consent calendar (items 7–27).
- Held for redesign/revision: Item 2 (107 W. Brown Street) – to return in September with a scaled-down deck and more historically appropriate door.
- Held for completion: Items 3 and 4 (2328 E. Back Bay Street) – deferred to September for final plans.
- Minutes approved: July 6, 2026 meeting minutes.
- Announcement: Local History & Historic Preservation Conference, October 14–18 (corrected to October 16) in downtown Milwaukee.
Meeting Transcript
A special message section that provides definitions for the licenses considered in the application and if applicable, information on public entertainment premises and extended hours establishment applications. In the lower section of the notice, there's information on how to submit objections. If you have an objection to the proposed business, you must submit it in writing to the licensed division by emailing us at license at Milwaukee.gov or sending a letter to our office located at two hundred East Well Street, room one oh five, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, five three two oh two. Make sure to include the following information in your objection. Please make sure that your objection reflects your own experiences as a licenses committee cannot consider hearsay. Your objection should relate to the operation of the proposed license and how it will have an adverse impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the public and the neighborhood. If you have any questions about this notice or license applications, contact the license division at license at Milwaukee.gov or calls at four one four two eight six twenty-two thirty-eighths. Did I hear about it? Calling to uh order the August third meeting of the historic preservation commission. Uh Mr. Roman, can you please call the role? Ann Piper here. Sally Pelt. Here. Nicholas Robinson. Here. Matt DeRose. Here. Robert Boutman. Here. Patricia Keaton. Excused. And Jordan Morales. Here. All right. We'll start with item number. Perfect. Yeah. Oh, there we go. Perfect. Everybody's here. Uh, we'll start with uh item one, two six zero one six one resolution relating to a certificate certificate of appropriateness for the infill of one door at two six six five North Lake Drive in the North Point North Historic District for Anna Tims and Craig Rigby. Uh, Carmen, could you call over to City Channel there? You haven't set me up for PowerPoint sharing. Okay. Uh, going. So we've got the uh J. Photographed here, the front elevation. This is the rear elevation, the west elevation. Um and they are proposing removing one exterior door, which um currently is just used for exterior um storage, um, but they want to remove that and infill the opening to enlarge the kitchen area. Um so here is the elevation as it is existing with that door. Um they would remove that opening, uh infill it with stucco uh to match the existing um texture and color of the rear facade. It's not visible from the right-of-way, it is the rear facade. Um so staff is recommending approval with conditions, um, and the conditions just being that uh the new stucco will be Portland cement stucco, no eFus would be allowed, um, and that the stucco should match uh the original stucco in terms of uh texture, hardness, and thickness. All right. Can you go back to the original, what it looks like now, please? Yep. The photo. Yeah, thank you. That's stucco, the blue.
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