Urban Milwaukee » 700 E. Kilbourn Avenue

The Bookends Development is Sent Back to Committee

Dave Reid — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:22:56 +0000

At the December 1st, 2009 meeting of the Milwaukee Common Council the Cooperation and Development Agreement for the Bookends development was sent back to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee. The agreement would of authorized a $3.45 million loan guarantee from the City of Milwaukee to the development team, of New Land Enterprises and Weichman Enterprises, for the Bookends apartment development. The apartment building would be located at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave. include 224 luxury apartments, 294 parking spots, and 3,000 square feet of retail space. The agreement was contingent on receiving another loan guarantee for the majority of the construction costs of $51.75 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Prior to the last Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee meeting HUD had denied the request for the loan guarantee that the development team had been seeking, but the committee moved the project forward and approved the city loan guarantee with the intent to encourage HUD to approve the development team’s appeal. Last week HUD held a followup meeting with the development team, and members of the Department of City Development to re-evaluate the project. Speaking about this meeting Alderman Witkowiak said “the developer had an excellent meeting, as I understand, with HUD relative to the loan guarantee package.” He went on to explain that the developer will be setting up meeting with Comptroller to go over the details of the term sheet. He added that, “I think at sometime in the future it could exit committee with a 5-0 vote.”

The Bookends Project Held Pending Comptroller Input

Dave Reid — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:45:29 +0000

New Land Enterprises and Wiechman Enterprises were seeking a change in zoning and a loan guarantee by the City of Milwaukee for the Bookends North project. The project would be located at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave., the former Edwardo’s Pizza location, and includes 224 luxury apartments, 294 parking spots, and 3,000 square feet of retail space. Tim Gohkman, of New Land Enterprises, explained that this would be the highest quality new apartment building in Milwaukee.

Rocky Marcoux, the Commissioner of the Department of City Development, explained that the benefits of getting involved in the project, included adding new units to the neighborhood, an increase to the tax base, and job creation. He stated that the “department finds itself recommending something, that we wouldn’t normally be recommending,” again indicating that the City of Milwaukee wouldn’t normally become involved in financing of residential deals, but that the current economic condition suggests some limiting financing might be necessary, and that market research indicates that 600 additional high-end rental units can be absorbed by the market.

Tim Gokhman spoke regarding the occupancy rates of a variety of different apartment quality levels. Specifically he cited the Jefferson Block Apartments in the Third Ward stating that those are over 90% occupied and another of their comparable projects, City Green, is over 90% occupied as well. He added that “rarely do you see a high-rise apartment complex built in the city,” and because of the reduced construction costs due to the downturn in the economy this is a rare opportunity to get a project like this built.

The total project cost of $60.2 million would be financed with a HUD guaranteed AFL-CIO pension fund backed loan of $51.7 million that would be serviced by Love Funding, equity investment, and a secondary loan that would require the City of Milwaukee loan guarantee of $3.45 million to be viable. If the loan guarantee was to be approved New Land Enterprises intends to break ground in January or February, and would expect construction to take 17 to 18 months.

The Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee moved to hold the file to allow for the comptroller to conduct a proper analysis of the potential risk before making a decision.

The Bookends Development Receives Approval from City Plan Commission

Dave Reid — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:05:04 +0000

New Land Enterprises received unanimous approval at the October 19th meeting of the City Plan Commission. The 19-story building will have 224 residential units, 292 parking spaces, and 3,000 square feet of retail. Targeting a high-end luxury market it will include upgraded finishes, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors. Additionally, it will offer a 75 foot lap pool with accompanying whirlpool, and concierge service. If New Land Enterprises were to obtain approval from the Common Council for this project and a propose loaned guarantee from the City of Milwaukee, then the project could break ground as early as February 2010 with an expected opening in two and half years.

New Land Enterprises’ Bookends Project To Go Before City Plan Commission (Renderings)

Dave Reid — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:47:04 +0000

The Bookends, proposed by New Land Enterprises, will go before the Milwaukee City Plan Commission on October 19th, 2009 to gain approval of a change in zoning to a detailed plan development. The project, which would be located at E. Kilbourn Avenue and N. Van Buren Street, consists of a 19-story mixed used apartment building with up to 224 dwelling units, a retail component, and five stories of structured parking. According to the Journal Sentinel, New Land Enterprises is also requesting that the city provide a loan guarantee, which would allow New Land Enterprises to move forward with the project, potentially breaking ground in the near future.

If approved, the development will go before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, and then onto the full Common Council. The full detailed plan is available on City Plan Commission website, and the associated file, 081081, is now available in legistar.

Two 20-story buildings proposed in East Town

Dave Reid — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:24:13 +0000

New Land Enterprises is proposing to build two 20-story mixed-use buildings on properties near Kilbourn Ave and Van Buren St. Specifically, last year New Land Enterprises purchased the Edwardo’s Pizza property at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave. as well as the vacant lot across Kilbourn Ave. A portion of the lot across Kilbourn Ave. has been developed into Terrace Row Condominiums while the remain portion awaits this development to be utilized. Renderings of this project currently displayed on Workshop Architects’ website portray shorter buildings indicating the final design is still very much in flux. Although these renderings are still a work in progress they emphasize the projects potential to increase population density and rebuild the urban fabric.

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The site location is pictured below via Google Maps Street View.

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