Author: Lee Matz

Coakley Brothers glass water tower is an artistic beacon atop Milwaukee’s skyline

On September 21, the Coakley Brothers installed a water tower resembling an enormous mural of glass wrapped around a cylinder on top of their Walker’s Point building, and held an illumination event for the mosaic sculpture on September 26, officially shining a light on Milwaukee’s design district. The 7.5 tons of plexiglass and steel was sculpted in the shape of the water tank that once sat on top of the Coakley building decades ago. The work serves as a beacon for the creative district in the redeveloping Walker’s Point neighborhood. It also draws attention to the $6 million renovation...

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Photo Essay: Under construction with Habitat for Humanity

One hundred volunteers from Komatsu joined Lavitta Moore to raise the walls of her very first home on the 2100 block of North 31st. Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity offers affordable mortgages, ensuring low to moderate income families are not paying more than 30% of their income on housing. Often times, our homeowners would not qualify for traditional mortgages through for profit lenders. The majority of poor renting families in Milwaukee spend over half of their income on housing. Matthew Desmond documented in his book “Evicted” that one in four pays over 70% in rent and utilities. Milwaukee Habitat has...

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