By Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee’s proposed Bronzeville Center for the Arts, which would create a large Black arts and cultural destination, has hired the project’s architect.

M&E Architects+Engineers will be the lead architect for the 50,000-square-foot facility to be built at 2300 N. King Drive − site of a former Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources office that will be razed.

“BCA exists to increase our collective knowledge and engagement with African American art, art history and artists,” said Kristen Hardy, a Milwaukee attorney and the nonprofit group’s board president.

“As a Black-led firm with deep roots in our community, M&E Architects+Engineers shares our vision and is the right partner to help us bring it to life,” Hardy said, in a statement.

The center will feature exhibitions, education and immersive artistic programming.

M&E Architects+Engineers has worked on projects such as the Sojourner Family Peace Center and Fiserv Forum.

“This is an incredible opportunity to help define the look and feel of an institution that will represent the African American arts community for generations,” said Isaac Menyoli, M&E president.

“Coupled with an array of development projects underway in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood, this project will be both a tribute to the rich history of the neighborhood and an investment in its future,” Menyoli said, in a statement.

HGA will partner with M&E to provide design and technical support. HGA’s team will include Design Principal Peter Cook, who was a lead design collaborator on the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Terri Howard, HGA’s Director of Equity.

See more on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.