Dave Reid

31 Townhomes Coming to Riverwest

All are apartments with lots of amenities but do they maximize their proximity to the river?

By - Feb 22nd, 2013 05:00 pm
2650 N. Humboldt Blvd. Rendering.

2650 N. Humboldt Blvd. Rendering.

Tim Gokhman, as part of ATF 1, LLC, intends to develop 31 townhomes on a property located on the east side of Humboldt Blvd., just south of Center St. in Riverwest. Gokhman stresses that this isn’t a New Land Enterprises project and that NLE won’t be involved in the construction. It should be noted that state records show Ann Shuk (who works for NLE) as the registered agent and according to Gokhman is a partner on the project.

The 31 townhomes, designed by architect Scott Kindness, will be divided between four buildings; three will have eight units and one will have seven units. Asked why he decided to build townhomes, Gokhman responds, “you have the opportunity to do gardens out front,” which he feels is an important amenity to offer residents of Riverwest. Also, Gokhman says, “we didn’t want to be the most dense” building in the neighborhood.

Each 3-story 2-bedroom home will be approximately 1,500 square feet, with 2.5 bathrooms, and a 2-car garage. The units will feature such amenities as hardwood floors, granite counters, stainless steel appliances, central air, in-unit washer and dryers, and, of course, a front yard available for gardening. The rents will range between $1,500-$1,600/month.

The east edge of the property is within 100 feet of the Milwaukee River Greenway Overlay District, so certain design and storm water management guidelines are required to be met. This also means the project must go before the City Plan Commission. Gokhman says his project will meet “100 percent of the guidelines.” The idea behind the design guidelines, Ald. Nik Kovac tells Urban Milwaukee, is “don’t turn your back on the river,” whereas this building turns its side to the river and Humboldt Blvd. In response to this concern and to better address the Humboldt Blvd. side,  Gokhman says the balconies were wrapped around the side of the building. Kovac adds “we pushed a little…to get them to meet Humboldt better,” but notes that as the project “is within zoning,” the city has “limited leverage.”

Gokhman recently presented the project to the Riverwest Neighborhood Association and the project will be discussed at an additional neighborhood meeting on March 4th. Says Kovac: “I’m glad the developer is open to be a part of a process like that.”

Construction could start in late May with the first building online in late Fall 2013, with the rest of the buildings opening in early 2014. All of the buildings will be enclosed by the end of 2013.

Floor Plans, Site Plan, and Project Rendering

Categories: Real Estate

12 thoughts on “31 Townhomes Coming to Riverwest”

  1. Bill Kissinger says:

    A worthy concept, but such tasteless design!

  2. B says:

    Good luck getting people to pay $1600/month to live on Humboldt and Center!

  3. Frank says:

    Is presenting development plans to the Riverwest Neighborhood Association a requirement? Or was is just a friendly gesture?

  4. Dave Reid says:

    @Frank For the most part is was a friendly gesture as the building meets zoning.

  5. Ted says:

    NOT New Land, but brought to you by Gokhman and Shuk. BEWARE

  6. Mr Michael Horne says:

    I just noted that it is shower only in the master bath.

  7. Jesse H. says:

    Well, shower only… the rabble will soon be in an uproar. Watch for the CAPS

  8. Anon says:

    $1500 a month? Give me a break. This is a block away from me and I pay $550 a month. DERP.

  9. Mr. Michael Horne says:

    March 6th 2013 — The Journal Sentinel has a story on the proposed development.
    http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/195615521.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

  10. Amber says:

    I realize this article is old but I just don’t get what’s going on in Milwaukee lately. We have SO MANY new apartments buildings going up all across the city and they all charge at least $1200 for a studio! I’m sorry but I’d like to meet who all of these people are that can afford that kind of rent. Also I co-manage an older building near North/Prospect and the people who come in looking for a place can barely afford our building which is pretty reasonable for the nice area. I mean look at the renovated mall on Prospect, they can’t rent that out to save their lives. I’m sure it nice but with that much in rent I would buy a house.

    It would be nice to know where they are getting their information and research from that shows these properties can be rented out with that kind of rent.

  11. Dave Reid says:

    @Amber I’ll point out that the vacancy rate in Milwaukee (and nationally) is pretty low right now. And the vast majority of new construction in apartments have actually filled up pretty quick. I wouldn’t expect the overlook to be full yet. And yes the issue with new construction is that renters are higher.

  12. Crystal says:

    @Amber, my thoughts exactly! Do people just spend the entirety of their monthly income on housing to be able to afford some of these new apartments? My husband and I certainly make enough (we’re both scientists), however with student loan payments each month and wanting to be able to go out for nice evenings occassionally/take vacation/build up savings we found it necessary to limit ourselves to an older 2 bedroom apartment with rent of $1100 a month. I just can’t see paying the rents they’re asking for these new buildings. I also wonder who affords these apartments since two mid-high range earning millenials such as us (which is exactly the demographic they’re trying to attract) can’t even afford one? Milwaukee is not exactly an affluent city with a large pool of high earners, and many millenials are also saddled with student loan debt, which I would think would impact how much they spend on rent.

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