Sept. 2, 2025 8:45p
(WGTD)---A Milwaukee developer who owns a wedding venue in that city has her eye on the Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha.
Kate Crowley, owner of St. James 1868 in Milwaukee, is offering to make $2 million of improvements to the Kenosha County-owned facility in exchange for part of the revenue that would be generated by weddings and other events. The Anderson Arts Center is part of the 15-acre Kemper Center Park on Kenosha's lakefront
Word of the offer comes as a newly-constituted board of the non-profit that runs Kemper Center for the county has made changes that are designed to increase park usage and raise revenue.
A member of the Kemper board, Kenosha County Supervisor Laura Belsky, gave an update to her county board colleagues Tuesday night.
Belsky said Crowley's offer is unlike anything else that has come before the county board. "It is a direct investment in Kenosha County's historic lakefront park--one that will generate hundreds of thousands annually through a revenue-sharing model, strengthening Kemper Center's financial stability," she said.
Crowley's plan includes a cafe within the walls of the Arts Center, an outdoor atrium under a tent-like structure for 250 guests, a restored period garden and other upgrades to the building.
There is a bit of a catch: The Kemper Board wants the county to agree to a long-term contract with the non-profit in order to make the project viable and enhance the chance of securing national accreditation for the museum. The non-profit recently hired an arts curator and an administrator.
In her presentation, Belsky pointed out that a consultant who recently studied Kemper for the county concluded that the campus was underutilized and could not achieve financial sustainability without new leadership, stronger partnerships and an operational change.
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