Kenosha taps Milwaukee architect for $22M innovation center at former Chrysler site

The city of Kenosha has selected Milwaukee's Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc. (EUA) to design a multimillion-dollar innovation center in the city's planned innovation district.

Construction of the 59,000-square-foot center could begin as soon as December and be largely completed by December 2024, according to a contract with EUA the city approved Monday evening. The city released conceptual designs for the project Monday and has not yet selected a contractor for the project.

The innovation center will be one of the first two buildings constructed within the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood (KIN), a 107-acre district planned on the site of the city's former Chrysler factory. It's slated to include technology incubators and offices, education institutions, commercial space, housing and green space, and could eventually create thousands of jobs.

The innovation center will be "a focal point, welcome center and home to (Kenosha's) entrepreneurial development efforts,” Mayor John Antaramian said in a statement Monday.

The innovation center will provide lease space for startups and other businesses, and also house the staff and partners of Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood Inc., the nonprofit organization that's leading the district's development efforts. Outside the innovation center will be a tiered plaza for outdoor performances, according to the contract.

Kenosha is also entering into agreements with the Kenosha Area Business Alliance Foundation to begin construction of a new LakeView Technology Academy in the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood, according to a Monday press release.

The innovation center will be on 26th Avenue between 55th and 56th streets, set on around four acres. The building will consist of a two-story north wing and a three-story west wing, according to the contract. It will incorporate sustainable design features including high-performance exterior glass, energy-efficient plumbing and lighting, and photovoltaics, but it will not be LEED certified.

Kenosha selected EUA through a design competition held in 2022. It sought submissions from four other architecture firms with offices in Wisconsin, including Continuum Architects + Planners, Smith Group, Strang Architects and Zimmerman Architectural Studios. It selected EUA and Zimmerman Architectural Studios as the finalists, according to a Feb. 23 memo from the city's development department.

"We really felt this design had the ‘Wow’ factor to help set the tone for the revitalization of this site and the neighborhoods around it and signal the educational and career opportunities we can provide for Kenosha and the region," KIN Inc. board president and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside chancellor Deborah Ford said in a Monday statement.

Kenosha's contract with EUA is for around $1 million, the memo states. The estimated cost of constructing the conceptual design is about $21.9 million, according to the contract.

Funding for the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood has come through federal and state grants and local funds, including a $53 million tax incremental financing district. The neighborhood as a whole could take 15 to 20 years to fully build out and could cost anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion, Kenosha director of city development Tim Casey told the Milwaukee Business Journal last year.

Ford announced last month she is leaving UW-Parkside to become chancellor of Indiana University Southeast near her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She will work with the KIN board to ensure a smooth transition, and the board is also working to hire an executive director, Ford said in an email to the Milwaukee Business Journal in February.