5th Ward’s Growth Continues
Apr 15th, 2008 | By Dave Reid | Category: Fifth Ward
Work has begun on at the former Transpak buildings located at 235 E. Pittsburgh Ave. The first is a smaller more recent building which had significant structural problems and is in the process of being demolished. The second is a larger warehouse building that is in the process of being gutted for a mixed-use redevelopment. To accommodate a first floor retail component the City of Milwaukee recently vacated the turning lane adjacent to this property.
The new 102-room Iron Horse Hotel located at 500 W. Florida St. has been under construction for several months and should open during the summer of 2008. It will be run by Miami boutique hotel operator Desire Hotels. Desire Hotels operates numerous high-end hotels throughout the country including the The Strand and The Sagamore. The Iron Horse Hotel will bring this same level of style to Milwaukee by featuring exposed brick and timber, down pillows, high-end linens, walk-in showers, flat screen TVs, Wi-Fi and covered parking for motorcycles.
Additionally the redevelopment of 234 W. Florida is making good progress. New windows have been installed throughout half of the structure and the gutting and reconstruction of the second half is well underway. The 5th Ward has shown to be one of the emerging neighborhoods in Milwaukee and these project are just a small portion of the redevelopment efforts that have been ongoing.
For those of us who foresaw the re-development of the 5th Ward, these developments come as no surprise.
I fought unsuccessfully to stop the demolition of the old Boy’s Tech high school building, with no success. There was a solid wall of ignorance that I ran into at every turn. The sand-bagging I received from the MPS, the Bradly Tech board, DCD, Historic Preservation Commission, and the Mayor, among others, was impressive, however infuriating.
This building was 400,000 sq/ft, all eco-remediated, solid concrete, and with irreplaceable opportunistic potential.
It would have loved to be re-invented and to become a part of the afore-mentioned 5th Ward redevelopment.
I love yoour blog. Keep up the good work.
Stephen> Yea I’ve been saying the 5th Ward/Walker’s Point is where the development is heading in Milwaukee for awhile now… If only I had the funding to be part of it. Oh well.
You know I didn’t follow the Boy’s Tech demolition much but now that it is too late. One thing I would like was instead of just becoming a grass field could it of become a true “place” where they could of had events like Cathedral Square does in East Town.
Thanks!