A ceremonial groundbreaking took place at the corner of Pleasant and Water streets today for the Portrait and Silhouette buildings at The North End, collectively known as Phase Two of The North End. A number of public officials were on hand representing the large number of public funding sources required to get the project off the ground (or more aptly, in the ground) with the state of private financing for development.

Mandel Group will be breaking ground on the second phase of The North End development project tomorrow. In January financing for the project was finalized with the completion of a $54.6 million WHEDA bond sale, and the completion of a direct placement of $7.75 million in tax-exempt bonds by Mandel Group.

Mandel Group will be moving forward with the second phase of the North End development project in February.

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 Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) announced today that Mandel Group Inc. will receive a $24.1 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.

What apartment projects are currently proposed, under construction, or have recently opened in Milwaukee? A little over a year ago we did a similar exercise, so it will be good to take a look and see what has changed in the past year.

After today’s news, nationally 2010 might go down as the year of high-speed rail, but here in Milwaukee it just might be the year of the Park East. By looking at the economy and listening to all of the talk of doom and gloom one would think this isn’t very likely, but it sure seems that momentum is building in the Park East corridor.

Would Milwaukee be better off with the Park East Freeway spur intact? No. Has development been slow so far? Yes. Is that a problem? Only if you have a short-term perspective on the future of Milwaukee.

Regardless of what neighborhood it is, the development of new apartments is a growing trend in Milwaukee. Currently there are two prominent projects vying for City of Milwaukee financial support in one form or another, the Bookends and The Moderne. Outside of the two proposed towers there are numerous other projects at various stages around urban Milwaukee.

UrbanMilwaukee.com was recently taken behind the construction fence for a tour of the first building, ONE, to be complete in the Mandel Group’s The North End project. We toured only the residential units in the building, although there will street-level retail space completed in the coming months along Water Street.