At its Tuesday meeting – during which a plan was also presented for the future of the Domes – the Milwaukee County Committee on Parks and Culture heard a report on the results of a Request for Information (RFI) released in spring seeking ideas for the future of two other county-owned cultural assets: the Villa Terrace and Charles Allis Art Museums.

Due to ongoing budget pressures, the county is seeking long-term solutions for these two institutions – like the Domes – that will heavily reduce or entirely eliminate the need for capital and operational funding from Milwaukee County.

The county has already worked with other cultural assets like the War Memorial, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee County Historical Society and the Marcus Performing Arts Center to ease its commitments there.

Currently, the county owns both the Villa Terrace and Charles Allis properties and is responsible for their maintenance and capital needs, including a seemingly ever-growing list of deferred maintenance.

A presentation made at the meeting by the Economic Development Division of the Department of Administrative Services notes that in the next two decades, the two museums will need funding for about $18 million in capital expenses, including continuing emergency repairs, and $4.5 million in operating funds, based on the current annual funding of $225,000.

Both museums are currently operated by Charles Allis Villa Terrace, Inc., (CAVT), which provides about 75 percent of the operating budget for the two facilities on Milwaukee’’s East Side.

Terms of the will of Sarah Allis, who donated the Charles Allis property and its art, require that there be public access to the Allis Museum’s building and collection.

Each of the museums has about 800 items in its collection.

The RFI drew four responses:

Friends of Villa Terrace

The Friends group suggested keeping the facility open as a public museum and garden with events space, and would accept the transfer of the property, “at the request of the County and on the County’s timeline.”

It would seek $3 million across five years for deferred maintenance and $125,000 over three years to help transition the operations. The group would work to raise $1.5 million through private philanthropy to help fund capital improvements and create a $500,000 operating endowment.

ADA access would be improved, museum materials would be translated into multiple languages, free museum admission days for low-income visitors would be added, along with family and youth programming.

The Friends’ response applied only to Villa Terrace with the caveat that, “FOVT is willing to discuss the transfer of the Allis Collection to its care.”

Bartolotta Restaurant Group

Bartolotta’s offered a proposal for Villa Terrace only, offering to purchase the facility at a negotiated price after a 120-day period during which time it would be allowed to, “undertake due diligence on the property, put together a restoration plan and a proposed timeline for completing the restoration with the intended purpose of operating a high-end hospitality venue.”

The art collection would be removed from Villa Terrace and returned to the county, and the building would be open on a limited basis to the general public for tours at designated times on designated dates.

Dynamic Events

Dynamic Events, Inc. suggested buying both buildings from the county for $1 and a 20-year $4 million loan at 4 percent interest. It would rely on developer equity, bank financing and historic tax credits for further funding.

It would use Villa Terrace as its primary events venue and convert the Charles Allis into a boutique luxury hotel.

According to the presentation, “Dynamic Events seeks to balance private ownership of Villa Terrace with continued public engagement and access. The proposal includes hosting cultural events such as art exhibitions, musical performances, and theater productions and community events such as gardening workshops, craft fairs, and seasonal celebrations.”

Villa Terrace would remain open to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays and would be free to local residents for two hours on the first Tuesday of each month.

Charles Allis Villa Terrace, Inc. (CATV)

The current operator initially proposed continuing its operations of both museums, including events and programming, with a “gradual step-down of operational funding over seven years.”

However, a revised proposal instead seeks continued annual operational support from Milwaukee County $225,000 in 2025 as the two museums separate from one another and then $225,000 per year for two more years, “to support (the) transition from a governing board to a fundraising board,” plus $3 million in assistance to address deferred maintenance over the next three years.

Then, “CAVT (would) secure long-term strategic partnerships that can provide sustaining revenue through space rental, use of historic tax credits, establishing other types of revenue, create a multi-use space with onsite third parties, e.g., renting to a coffee shop or renting office or workspaces to other non-profits or artists.”

After considering the four RFI responses, the Milwaukee County Department of Administrative Services’ (DAS) Economic Development Division is seeking authorization to enter negotiations with the Friends of Villa Terrace, Inc. over the future of Villa Terrace, while at the same time, consider the future of the Allis Museum and its collection.

On Tuesday, the committee members discussed the various options and seemed most open to keeping the facilities accessible to the public, rather than selling them to private businesses.

In the end, the committee voted unanimously to allow DAS to negotiate with the Friends of Villa Terrace, as proposed by the Economic Development Division, and to continue to work with that office on the future of the Allis Museum, which could require the dissolution of the Sarah Ball Allis trust.

“CAVT is supportive of a split museum future,” says CATV Executive Director Jaymee Harvey Willms. “The nonprofit sees a bright future for each institution that creates unique identities for both Charles Allis and the Villa Terrace Art Museums.

“The Friends of Villa Terrace have shared their enthusiasm for supporting the Villa, and their ability to fundraise for a brighter future to ensure community access for Milwaukee. Their work with the county will protect the legacy of the Villa Terrace for future generations.”

Read a history of the Charles Allis building here and find more on the history of the Villa Terrace property here.

“CAVT is devoted to protecting the Charles Allis Art Museums as imagined by Sarah Ball Allis in 1945,” says Harvey Willms. “The Board of Directors is working to build long-term partnerships and rebuild the existing governance structure to a fundraising structure.

"I believe there is a world of possibility at Allis to be explored, and a structure that allows staff to devote their time to one business rather than two will allow Charles Allis to truly grow into the space Sarah imagined so long ago.”

Community access to these publicly owned historic buildings – which were donated to the people of Milwaukee County – and their art collections (also gifted in some cases) is something that should be maintained if at all possible. Once they're gone they're not likely coming back.

“Milwaukee County has the opportunity to ensure a future for both museums, investing in its core mission to end racism and support mental health for our community by ensuring the museum's future through a well-thought-out, and supportive plan to be carried out in the coming months and years,” says Harvey Willms.

“The Office of Economic Development has been an incredible resource for the museums and the Parks Committee. Their leadership and insight have been crucial in navigating this process, and CAVT looks forward to building an exciting and incredible future for Milwaukee's homes for art.”