The North End Phase II, 55-unit Apartment Building

Mandel Group will be moving forward with the second phase of The North End development project in February.  Financing for the project was finalized as WHEDA completed the sale of $54.6 million of tax-exempt Midwest Disaster Area bonds.  These funds will go to provide funding for The North End Phase II, as well as funding the “LightHorse | 4041″ mixed-use development in Shorewood.  Additionally, Mandel Group directly placed $7.75 million in tax-exempt bonds to complete the financing for the project.  “This was one of the more involved financings we’ve completed thus far, indicative of the challenges with capital formation in the real estate space” commented David A. Pavela, Chief Financial Officer for Mandel Group, Inc.

The North End Phase II, 100-unit Apartment Building

This phase will add 155 apartments, 20% of which will be affordable units per the WHEDA financing agreement, new retail space, and numerous public infrastructure improvements.  Richard W. Lincoln, senior vice president of Mandel Group, noted that “Significant investment by both the public sector and our development partnerships will add new streets, an extensive riverwalk and a new public meeting and entertainment square” to the North End development.

1601 N. Jackson St. Apartment Proposal

Dermond Property Investments’ request for a change in zoning for the properties 1601 N. Jackson and 522 E. Pleasant St. from Local Business (LB2) to a Detailed Planned Development (DPD) was held at today’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.   The change in zoning is needed to allow a 34-unit apartment building to be developed on the site.  The site’s current zoning would only allow for 12-units to be developed, though the massing and height of the proposal is consistent with the current zoning.

Max Dermond, principal of Dermond Property Investments, explained that each unit in the five-story apartment building would include balconies, underground heated parking, and in-unit washer and dryers.  Additionally, he recognized that residents had brought up a list of concerns including parking, height, architectural style, traffic, and density, but that they were working to alleviate many of these issues.

Alderman Bauman echoed the concerns regarding size saying “as an infill project this is totally out of scale.”  The Project Designer, Joel Agacki of Striegel-Agacki Studio, pointed out that “by right someone could even do something bigger”, and that “there are similar residences within eye-shot of the site”.  Also weighing in on the project, Alderman Murphy added “I’m a little concerned about the size of the building and the number of units.”  A few residents showed up to oppose the project, all echoing the same points “it doesn’t fit”, and it will create parking issues .

Alderman Kovac, who represents the area, explained that “this is certainly a completely unique street”, in that while it has a variety of single family homes and duplexes it is also just on short block away from the Park East redevelopment area.  And that depending on which way one is facing there are vastly different building styles and heights in the near neighborhood.  He summarized saying,  “there’s a mix”, and indicated that despite neighborhood opposition, which he pointed out was primarily about parking, that he believes this project “is right on the border”.

At Alderman Kovac’s sugestion, the request was held to allow for the developer to revise the design to make it more appealing to the neighborhood and the committee.

Proposal Links

• Five-Story Apartment Building Proposed on Jackson Street
• Map
• Description
• Drawings

Rendering of the Milwaukee Streetcar vehicle.

We kickoff 2012 with three predictions about how three projects, which have the potential to change Milwaukee’s landscape, will unfold in 2012.  The projects?  The reconfiguration of the Lake Interchange, the Milwaukee Streetcar, and Kohl’s potential re-location to downtown Milwaukee.

Will WisDOT approve re-configuring the Lake Interchange as per the Long-Range Lakefront Plan?  The Long-Range Lakefront Plan not only included the addition of a bike trail to the Hoan Bridge, but also included a new design for how downtown connects to the lakefront.  A key part of this plan is the reconfiguration of the Lake Interchange with the goal of creating a new boulevard and opening up new lakefront property to development.   WisDOT’s quick dismissal of the Hoan Bridge bike trail, combined with its less than stellar track record of working with the City of Milwaukee doesn’t give us much faith in cooperation.  In this light we believe WisDOT will argue they can’t make the changes requested due to ‘safety’ and ‘congestion’ concerns.   No, this project is not going to happen.

Will the Streetcar project begin construction in the Fall of 2012?  The project’s key hurdle to clear is the petitioning of the Public Service Commission, by Brett Healy of Oconomowoc, if construction is to begin as planned.  If a declaratory judgement were to rule in Healy’s favor it would force the City of Milwaukee to pay for We Energies’ equipment re-location costs, unlike other public works projects and despite local ordinance.  Although two of the three members of the PSC were appointed by Governor Walker, and are likely at be at odds with the City of Milwaukee and transit in general, they did drop AT&T and ATC from the original petition showing a small window of possibility. We believe the City of Milwaukee will find a solution even if concerns over setting a precedent that could raise the cost of public works projects in communities across Wisconsin and trampling local control are ignored by the PSC.  That solution might involve the City of Milwaukee using TIF to pick up these costs, albeit with the costs being significantly less than stated by We Energies (note the Marquette Interchange utility re-location cost estimates were vastly overestimated initially), or further legal action.  This one is clearly a close call, and construction will likely be delayed because of this legal fight, but the City of Milwaukee will find a way to advance the Streetcar in 2012.

Will Kohl’s choose to move its headquarters to the Park East in downtown Milwaukee?  The City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are working together (how about that), to bring Kohl’s to the Park East.  Working together the governmental entities have put together a proposal that would include more than $100 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits, potentially other incentives, and assistance far outweighing the $41 million TIF approved by the Village of Menomonee Valleys to entice Kohl’s to stay.  During Chris Abele’s acceptance speech he indicated his intent to work with the City of Milwaukee to develop the Park East land, and again during his and Mayor Barrett’s combined re-election announcement event he and Mayor Barrett reiterated this partnership, hinting at a possible deal.  Yes, Kohl’s will announce they are moving to the Park East as the deal the being putt together will be too good to pass on.

1601 N. Jackson St. Apartment Proposal

Dermond Property Investments’ request for a change in zoning for the properties 1601 N. Jackson and 522 E. Pleasant from Local Business (LB2) to a Detailed Planned Development (DPD) will go before the City Plan Commission on January 9th, 2012.  The developer plans to build a five-story 34-unit residential apartment building that will consist of one-bedroom apartments and studios.  Each unit will have a covered outdoor terrace. The project will be located at the intersection of Jackson St. and Pleasant, the former Joey’s Restaurant location.  In excess of the zoning requirement of 18 off-street parking spots the building will include 34 enclosed parking spaces, 24 in the basement and ten on the first floor.  The project will target young professionals that prefer to live in a high-end apartment building with easy access to shopping, dining, and entertainment.

• Public Hearing Notice
• Map
• Description
• Drawings

UPDATE The proposal was originally reported as a four-story apartment building, but including the party room it is a five-story building.

Milwaukee’s newest trendy neighborhood is likely to become one of its best, and almost certainly its greenest.  The Brewery, an environmentally sensitive restoration and adaptation of historic structures among the decaying wreckage of the former Pabst Brewing Company, is already home to striking residential lofts, a great beer hall, a range of offices, Cardinal Stritch University City Center, and a small urban park.  Soon it will add a senior living facility and the School of Public Health of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Look for more residential and commercial presence, including a boutique hotel, retail and restaurants, over time.

As you can see by the image above, before construction the site was pretty much a disaster.  This has been a major undertaking by any measure.

When NRDC, the Congress for the New Urbanism and the US Green Building Council began taking applications from developers to participate in the pilot program for LEED for Neighborhood Development, The Brewery was one of three among the 200-plus applicants that immediately caught my eye as projects with exceptional potential.  (The other two were New York City’s Melrose Commons and Victoria, BC’s Dockside Green.)  The development plan for The Brewery has now earned a platinum rating under LEED-ND, one of only a few projects to do so.

Here’s why I got excited:  the seven-block, 20-acre project involved the restoration and adaptive reuse of an amazing 26 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, surely making it one of the most ambitious historic preservation projects in the country.  It also involved extensive brownfield cleanup; had a great location within walking distance of Milwaukee’s downtown; planned aggressive use of green infrastructure to manage stormwater; planned to set aside some apartments for qualifying low-income families; and included standards for high-performing green buildings.  The Brewery was also strongly supported by the city government in what has been the largest public-private partnership in Milwaukee’s history.

That master plan is now coming to fruition.  The master developer was the late Joseph Zilber, who had built a large portfolio of development both in downtown Milwaukee and in Hawaii.  (His philanthropic portfolio was impressive, too, including a $50 million fund to improve Milwaukee’s low-income neighborhoods.)  A number of the individual buildings within The Brewery site are now being developed by Gorman & Company.

When the site is fully built out, it is expected to include at least 300 homes and some 1.3 million square feet of office and retail property.  My friends in Milwaukee call The Brewery “a great, great project” and say “the more I see at the old Pabst site, the more I like.”  One of them also reports that the old Pabst headquarters building “was used as a setting for one of Charles Bronson’s last movies, Family of Cops 3 (which was mostly filmed in Toronto, but used the Pabst Brewery for some key scenes).”

I can’t wait to see it for myself.  In the meantime, check out the plans and before and after images accompanying this post.  Here’s also a neat music video that was filmed entirely within the Best Place Tavern at The Brewery:

For those of you whose video tastes lean more toward the explicitly environmental, here’s another one, of the bioswales incorporated into the site to filter stormwater.  One of the things I like best about green infrastructure is the way it introduces bits of literally green nature into otherwise hardscape urban sites:

Guest post by Kaid Benfield

Kaid Benfield Director, Sustainable Communities, NRDC; co-founder, LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system; co-founder, Smart Growth America coalition; author, Once There Were Greenfields (NRDC 1999), Solving Sprawl (Island Press 2001), Smart Growth In a Changing World (APA Planners Press 2007), Green Community (APA Planners Press 2009); voted one of the “top urban thinkers” in poll on Planetizen.com and named one of “the most influential people in sustainable planning and development” by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

The North End Phase II

At yesterday’s meeting of the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee meeting Mandel Group’s efforts to acquire financing for the next phase of The North End were recommended for approval. The $4.6 million city loan was approved as part of the second amendment to the Park East TID No 48 has a term of 18 years and a 5.5% fixed interest rate. The second phase will include two buildings, a 55-unit building and a 100-unit building, both one-story taller than the previous buildings. The 55-unit apartment building will complete the block face along Pleasant St. and frame a new public square. The 100-unit building will be constructed along a new street that will run along the Milwaukee River. As the project is being partially funded by WHEDA with $26.18 million (was originally $24 million) in variable rate tax-exempt bonds 80% of the apartments will be offered at market rates while 20% will be reserved as affordable housing units. Additionally, $2.2 million of previously approved TIF funds will be used during this phase to construct the dockwall, the riverwalk, a public square, and a new street. This file will now go before the full Common Council for approval

Tom Daykin has an article on the approval as well, City Loan for North End Phase II Recommended for Approval at committee.

MSOE Soccer Parking Facility

Talks between M&I, MSOE, and Milwaukee County regarding MSOE’s proposed parking garage in the Park East have dragged on for months, and it is likely because of a new detail that makes a marginal project into a bad project.  Apparently, the deal would be contingent on an additional parking lot for M&I to replace the lot they would sell to MSOE.  This surface parking lot, which would be located across the street from another M&I parking lot along Water St., would essentially lock up a vast section of the Park East land to never see significant development.

This project was marginal from the beginning as it had an assortment of drawbacks.  For example, it is sited incorrectly in that the park would not have allowed it to enhanced future developments.   Another issue was that the 700 car parking garage was not large enough to help other developments offset their parking ‘needs’.  The design shows little inspiration, in that it failed to wrap much of the building with active uses, and failed to capitalize on an opportunity to create a point of focus where the building comes to ground.  Further, the soccer field wasn’t the public park intended by the Park East plan, and it is a real question as to whether this will become a public amenity or a MSOE-only facility.  And now M&I is pushing for control of the land along Water St. to potentially create a new surface parking lot.

Hopefully this part of the deal can be resolved, because in this form this deal has more of a chance of stopping any development, rather than encouraging any development as it will turn much of the Park East land into a single-use, low-utilization, low tax-base sea of parking.

One improvement that is being negotiated is for M&I, at least in the short run, to lease their parking slots inside the new garage.  This would be a significant improvement, though apparently M&I is still pushing for long-term control of the lot along Water St., so this may not be a good long-term solution.  As Alderman Kovac explained to me “if the lot west of there eventually becomes a surface lot it is a failure,” but that he hoped a long-term solution could be worked out to resolve the issues.  Better yet, MSOE could build a larger garage that would not only meet the long-term needs of M&I, but also the needs of future developments in the Park East.  A larger garage could be accomplished with some sort of City of Milwaukee involvement and could include an upgraded first-floor design to insure tax revenue and street activation.

Although the project is still questionable as to its long-term benefits to Milwaukee, the deal breaker is if parking garage comes with a surface parking lot, as that would be a failure.

First, it’s important to examine what Target typically does in the Milwaukee area, as this should present a good indication of what they would likely do downtown if there were no restrictions.  The three Target’s nearest to downtown are on Miller Park Way, South 27th Street, and Chase Avenue. None are urban in form, in their locations they’re the standard suburban big box retail. The parking lots are the same size of the stores themselves, clearly not something fit for downtown.

South 27th Street, Miller Park Way, and Chase Avenue Targets.

Next, it’s worth looking at what Target has done in other urban locations to give an indication of what the Target-loving urbanist might aspire for Target to build in Milwaukee. To-date Target has always focused on building stores that were at least 125,000 square feet in size, but they recently unveiled the “CityTarget” concept of slightly smaller stores (60,000 to 100,000 square feet) for urban neighborhoods. Unfortunately no detailed plans are available for review of any of the proposed CityTarget’s. But it is worth looking at what has been built though, including stores in Chicago, Seattle, Stamford, Minneapolis, and St. Louis.

Chicago has an urban target located in the South Loop neighborhood. It is blocks from two rapid transit stops, on a bus line, walkable by design, surrounded by develop-able land, and contains no surface parking. It appears remarkably urban given that much of the land around is underdeveloped to-date. It is well-located for the future as the blank walls on the back of the building abut the railroad tracks.

Seattle has a Target located across the street from Northgate Mall. It is connected with a Best Buy and shares a parking garage with the electronics store. It is more walkable, but is surrounded by surface parking on an adjacent parking lot. Other retail spaces are part of the two buildings, making the facility a larger demand generator. UrbanReviewSTL has a good write-up on the development.The space appears more attractive at street-level.

Target built an urban store in Stamford, CT. It is in a multi-story, pedestrian-friendly building that includes an attached parking deck. It is connected to a number of other retail outlets. The building is big and box like, but delivers a far more urban big box store than Target typically builds.

The Target in this aerial view is the building with the round corner. It is walkable, incredibly urban and transit acessible, and located in the core of downtown Minneapolis. It is an outlier though because it is connected to the Target headquarters.

This is a new Target in St. Louis. It is a couple miles from downtown, and located in the heart of a residential neighborhood. It is more urban than the Schucks supermarket across the street, but is still quite suburban in nature. It is setback from the street quite a distant, and features a fair amount of surface parking. It's better than any Target currently in Milwaukee, but not urban enough in design to fit within the character of downtown Milwaukee.

Given a choice between all of the presented targets, it seems clear that the downtown Minneapolis best integrates with the urban fabric it occupies. Would Target build that urban of a store in Milwaukee though? It seems unlikely at this point. If Milwaukee is to land a Target, it would seem best to aspire for the Chicago and Seattle examples, while avoiding the not-quite-suburban-or-urban nature of the new St. Louis Target.

Landing a mixed-use Target with a housing or office component would be the holy grail of urban big-box development, and could theoretically be placed on any vacant parcel as a long-term demand generator. The mix of uses would prevent the building from becoming a black hole in the urban fabric at its off-hours.

For a Target to locate in the Park East, as Bruce Westling has proposed, it would need to be a pedestrian-friendly, multi-story building to comply with the Park East Redevelopment Plan. A Target in the Park East is an idea worth supporting, but only if it is a mixed-use building and works to eliminate the blank walls that plague big box stores. While the Park East Redevelopment Plan is about to be amended for the creation of the MSOE Parking Structure, it would be foolish to further amend it to allow a big-box store to be constructed adjacent to proposed parking structure that did not comply with the design guidelines of the plan.

A mixed-use Target faces an uphill battle though because of the currently diminished strength of Milwaukee’s downtown condominium, office, and retail markets. Furthermore there are a number of vacant parcels available for development. Putting together a mixed-use building for Target is going to be complex, and it seems unlikely that any developer would go through with it if they didn’t have to. RSC & Associates had discussions with Target about locating in a mixed-use development in their Park East parcel, but their parcel remains closer to an urban farm than a mixed-use building (with no public indications of that changing anytime soon). A proposal by Ghazi Company for 4th and Wisconsin could have included a large retail anchor as well, but that was a victim of the economic downturn.

If Milwaukee gets a Target downtown in the near future, it’s likely going to come in the form of a single-use building.

Where would a single-use Target fit well? Given that it would likely have a number of blank walls, and not-be a 24 hour demand generator it makes the most since to put it on the fringe of downtown where it would abut another blank wall. It would work even better if it could take advantage of existing parking assets. Given those constraints, a single-use building to house Target (or even Wal-Mart which is rolling out smaller urban stores itself) would best fit near Interstate 794 in Westown.

If Target were to locate on any of the surface lots near Interstate 794, it could be connected to Grand Avenue to breathe new life into the facility and share the parking garage.

The potential store should still be designed in a pedestrian-friendly nature for the sides of the building away from the Interstate or an alley, but allowing the building to have a few largely blank walls would reduce design costs and constraints making it more likely to actually happen should Target or another big-box retailer decide to open here.

A Target would be a welcome addition to downtown Milwaukee, but only in the right-form or location.

Milwaukee Intermodal Station Trainshed

Our belief that 2010 could have been the Year of the Park East, came up a bit short, and unfortunately it wasn’t the only project that was derailed in 2010.  The Rainier Properties II LLC’s office and movie theater proposal hasn’t budged.  The CommonBond project, an apartment proposal on RSC’s Park East land, failed to receive WHEDA tax credits so it stalled.  In fact nothing actually broke ground in the Park East, and most Park East proposals have gone quiet during this past year.

That said there were a couple of significant advances in the Park East.   First, The Moderne finally received financing, and although it has yet to officially break ground, site preparation started this past week. Secondly, The North End Phase II project received a funding agreement from WHEDA, though it is still working with the City of Milwaukee to complete the project’s financing.  Finally, MSOE proposed the building of a parking garage/athletic facility in the Park East which seems to be on the fast track.  So with an improving economy it looks possible that the Park East project will be able to get back on track in 2011.

Unfortunately, 2010 ended up being the year of high-speed rail, just not in Milwaukee.  Governor Walker ran a campaign that featured shutting down the high-speed rail upgrade and extension project as a key plank in his platform, and once elected he got his wish.  As a direct result the funds were reallocated from Wisconsin to a multitude of other states, costing Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in particular, jobs, tourism, and improved transportation options.  Legally required upgrades to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station are now delayed and possibly unfunded.  The funding for freight tracks that were to be upgraded to allow trains to travel at speeds higher than 10 MPH was also lost.  Finally, instead of 125 new central city jobs, Talgo will likely only keep 60 here in Milwaukee.

Clearly, 2010 wasn’t the year of the Park East, though certain projects did move forward, unfortunately for Milwaukee it turned out to be a year of anti-urban rhetoric that cost us much more than the pennies a year high-speed rail service would have cost Wisconsin.

100-unit Apartment Building

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) announced today that Mandel Group Inc. will receive $24.1 million in financing to support the development of the second phase of The North End in Milwaukee’s Park East Corridor.   This phase will include two five-story apartment buildings with a total of 155 units, 31 of which will be dedicated workforce housing.

The building along the Milwaukee River will have 100 units, while the Pleasant St. building will include 55 units and approximately 2,300 square feet of retail fronting the corner plaza. Individual apartments will include features similar to those found in the first phase of The North End, such as patios, in unit washer and dryer, green space, a media room, and underground parking.  Additionally, the project will finish off the first block of The North End development, by completing Milwaukee St., building a new street along the riverfront, and the construction of a new Riverwalk section.

Mandel Group is continuing to work with the City of Milwaukee to obtain an $8 million loan to complete the financing of the $38 million project. If able to obtain the appropriate approvals the plan is for a March 2011 ground breaking, and construction would take from 14 to 16 months.

Bookends North (Proposed)

Odds of New Land Enterprises project getting off the ground in the next twelve months are slim to none. Probably worse with the recent announcement that New Land satisfied a potential foreclosure by surrendering their Transera/Goll Mansion property.

Brewer’s Hill Lofts (Proposed)

Commonwealth Development Corporation received $1,313,568 in WHEDA tax credits to help finance the proposed 45-unit Brewer’s Hill Lofts on the corner of N. Holton Street and E. Brown Street. No other public details have emerged on this project yet.

Mercy Housing Lakefront – North Avenue (Proposed)

Perhaps the most active of any proposed project in the Milwaukee-area. After a number of revisions by Korb Tredo Architects and Mercy Housing Lakefront, this $8.5 million, 5-story, 54 unit project finally appears ready to seek full Common Council approval.

Mercy Housing Lakefront's proposal

North End Phase Two (Proposed)

The speed at which this $39 million second phase leaves the drawing board and breaks ground appears largely in the hands of the city at this point. Despite the eagerness the city had to finance The Moderne and the Bookends North proposals, the city to-date has not yet pushed through any type of financing the second building at The North End. The project would include two six-story buildings at 1551 N. Water Street. The Mandel Group had hoped to break ground in the spring of 2011.

Park East Commons (Proposed)

This project seems unlikely to move forward in the next twelve months, and may be dead all together. CommonBond Communities had agreed to buy a portion of the Park East block (bordered by Milwaukee, Jefferson, Lyon and Ogden) that RSC & Associates bought from Milwaukee County. CommonBond’s proposal was for 87 apartments, 61 underground parking spaces, and street-level retail (11,000 square-feet, owned by RSC). CommonBond was placed “on hold” by WHEDA for the $1,672,644 in federal affordable housing tax credits for which they applied. Prior to the CommonBond deal, RSC was approved for a $30 million bond issuance by RACM in January. To-date RSC has been unable to develop anything on the land.

The Moderne (Proposed)

The Moderne has had more false starts in the past year than the Chicago Bears. Initially, with financing from the city they hoped to break ground in November of 2009. That didn’t happen, so it was on to a planned December 2009 ground-breaking after the city awarded the proposal financing in early November. December didn’t happen, which led to Developer Rick Barrett believing February would see shovels in the ground, but due to a delay at HUD that didn’t happen. Next up was a September or October groundbreaking, which again didn’t happen because of HUD even though they awarded the project final loan guarantee approval in late August. Technically it could still happen in November, but now it looks like The Moderne will finally break ground in December of 2010 with HUD expected to finally close on the deal.

Nighttime rendering of The Moderne

Wangard Properties (Proposed)

Wangard’s proposal to develop an apartment building next to the HighBridge Condominiums on North Water Street received zoning approval in January of 2010. Wangard, as of August, was seeking a loan guarantee from HUD for the proposed 68-unit building, and had hoped to break ground in October 2010. Similar to the The Moderne, this project is still waiting on HUD to move forward.

Beerline B Apartments (Under Construction)

General Capital Group broke ground on the Beerline B Apartments in November of 2010. The project is financed in part by $2,345,310 in WHEDA tax credits. The project includes 140 units, and will occupy the long vacant corner of Commerce Street and Pleasant Street in Milwaukee’s Beerline neighborhood.

Beeerline B Apartments Rendering

Jackson Square Apartments (Under Construction)

Nearing the completion of construction in the Third Ward is Robert Joseph’s 81-unit Jackson Square Apartments.  When finished the project will feature 100+ underground parking stalls, and 9,000 square feet of retail space.  Rents will range from $800 to $1,600 with units split between one and two bedrooms.

Jackson Square Apartments Construction

National Lofts (Under Construction)

Dixon Development (Tim Dixon, Iron Horse hotel, Kramer Lofts) has begun demolition of the former Barry Trucking facility on the northeast corner of National Avenue and 1st Street. This development will be the first on the site, and will be placed at the back of the lot. It is being financed through $1.5 million in federal affordable housing tax credits.

South Water Works – Building Three (Under Construction)

Lighthouse Development is in the process of building an additional 52-unit apartment building at the South Water Works development. Construction is expected to be completed by March of 2011. Average unit size in the new development will be smaller than the neighboring Bridgeview apartments (800 vs 940 square-feet).

Corcoran Lofts (Open)

Mandel completed the Corcoran Lofts in the spring of 2010. The building is connected to the existing Gaslight Lofts, and includes 76 apartments and 3,400 square feet of retail space.

Corcoran Lofts Construction

Hide House Lofts (Open)

The Hide House Lofts were completed in November of 2010. The Bay View development features sixty units on four floors. General Capital Group and Joseph Property Development built the apartments after a contentious battle with area residents in 2009, which largely centered around the building’s use of WHEDA tax credits to finance part of its construction. The Hide House Lofts replaced the portion of the Greenebaum tannery complex built in the 1940′s, the portion built in 1898 still stands.

Hide House Lofts Construction

Latitude Apartments (Open)

The Latitude Apartments were completed in August 2010. Originally a project of New Land Enterprises, the Latitude Apartments won full zoning approval from the Milwaukee Common Council in December 2008 and was sold to Dermond Property Investments for $2.1 million in January 2009.  The project is located at the intersection of Kenilworth Ave. and Farwell Ave. just across from the Kenilworth Square Apartments.  The $13 million project features 90 units, and 7,500 square feet of street-level retail.  The units are broken down into 71 one-bedroom units and 19 studios.  Units range in size from 650 to 1,000 square feet.  The project includes 90 underground parking spaces, with 13 reserved for retail tenants.

Latitude Apartments

MSOE Soccer Parking Facility

Milwaukee School of Engineering is proposing the construction of a $30 million, 780-car parking garage, that would have an athletic field on the roof of the building.  About 500 of the 780 parking spots would be leased to business and the general public, generating taxable revenue for MSOE.  The proposal also includes a small public park that would be maintained by MSOE, and a retail slot designed for a small restaurant, or coffee shop that would be adjacent to the park.  The parking garaged would be located north of the Kern Center on the northwest corner of Broadway and Knapp Street, within the Park East corridor.  Not visible in the renderings, but do to the elevation drop of the 2½ acres site the athletic field be visible at ground level on the corner of Broadway and Knapp Street.

The project would be funded in a large part by a donation from Drs. Robert and Patricia Kern.  The property is currently owned by Marshall & Ilsley Corporation and Milwaukee County.

To move forward the project will require approval by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, and a zoning change to be approved by the City of Milwaukee Common Council.