Jeramey Jannene
Eyes on Milwaukee

Chicago Firm Unveils Designs for 35-Story Tower

New skyscraper would contain up to 275 apartments in downtown Milwaukee.

By - Sep 21st, 2014 08:01 am

New skyscraper would contain up to 275 apartments in downtown Milwaukee. Back to the full article.

Photos - Page 2

7 thoughts on “Eyes on Milwaukee: Chicago Firm Unveils Designs for 35-Story Tower”

  1. SFScott says:

    I like this building over “The Couture” by about 400%. It’s design is much more urbane that the out-of-context, Miami Vice design of Couture. It’s already on the planned streetcar line and doesn’t require a spur. It spreads the love around beyond the lake front. And, it doesn’t have a ridiculous name!

    Build it first.

  2. Danny says:

    I agree. I would much rather live here than in The Couture. Don’t get me wrong, I think The Couture is important and should be built just as quickly. Even though they are luxury, I see two different markets. Milwaukeens will LIVE in 700, it’s a neighborhood, close to everything and approachable. The Couture will most likely attract, corporate apartments, empty nesters, and multiple home buyers, who only want to be there for the festivals, and can afford to have everything brought to them.

    I think it is important to “build up that skyline!”, but Milwaukee also needs livable infill projects such as this. And NO public money!!! Start it yesterday!

  3. Jarrett says:

    I think they could have done better with the design. It looks like nothing more than a combo of the original Kilbourn Tower and it’s neighbor, University club tower- down to the offset curtain glass curtain wall (like kilbourn) and the asymmetric windows (like University.)
    If we’re gonna keep building non-market supported luxury high rises, at least be original about it.

  4. David says:

    I like the building but Im not sure this project building can be built cheap enough to work. Labor costs have increased significantly in the last year and its not cheap to build a high rise. I would love to see it though.

  5. Kyle says:

    I think the design will be very well suited to that location and serve as an excellent visual bridge between the stylings of the towers along Prospect Ave and the central cluster of East Town buildings. A transitional building to tie the areas together and a nice addition to our soon to be much more defined skyline. Another great example of how a visually appealing skyline can be achieved without building excessively tall structures. In 5-7 years, Milwaukee’s skyline is shaping up to no longer be included with people’s gripes about what the city lacks, which is something I very much welcome.

  6. Chris says:

    This project has a leg up on the Couture in that it won’t be facing lawsuits and doesn’t require a land sale approval from local government. One has to feel the market for high end apartments will be saturated in the next 5 years but I would bet this one makes makes it off the ground because everything is lined up. The Couture or some project will still be built on that spot because it is prime real estate, it might be another phase of the North End, Avenir, or the proposed complex on Prospect by Dominion Properties that suffers instead.

  7. David says:

    They seem to be courting two separtate markets. It seems to me that the Kilbourn building is targeting millenials while the Couture is targeting empty nesters, much like Mandel’s Block Nine project on Prospect.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us