70 New Apartments for Fifth Ward

A 70-unit, five-story apartment building is coming to the north end of Walker’s Point. Planned for a vacant lot at the northeast corner of the intersection of S. 2nd St. and W. Florida St., the building will contain a mixture of apartments and commercial space. This is the first Milwaukee-area project for Linden Street Partners, a company which maintains offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Santa Ana, California

The building will be known as “The Quin” after its location in Milwaukee’s former Fifth Ward. The name comes the Latin root (“Quin”) for five, says Scott Richardson, one of two partners (along with Andrew Ganahl) in Linden Street Partners.

Richardson notes the firm was “drawn to site by the good things already happening in the S. 2nd Street corridor and in Walker‘s Point.” The firm’s website states “the project is a textbook example of an infill site, surrounded by beneficial existing uses.” They’re right: the building is within walking distance of the Historic Third Ward and way too many bars, restaurants and businesses to list.

Working with a design by Rinka Chung Architecture, the development team hopes to break ground by May. Altius Building Company will serve as the construction manager on the project. Once construction starts the building will take approximately 13 to 14 months to build.

Apartments in the L-shaped building will be a mix of one and two bedroom units. Fifty-six parking spaces are planned in the building. Tenants will find a variety of amenities including an outdoor deck, dog walk, indoor clubhouse and on-site gym. Approximately 1,500 square-feet of commercial space will be included on the building’s first floor, which renderings depict as a coffee shop.

Linden Street Partners acquired the 21,000-square-foot, vacant lot at 324 S. 2nd St. for $475,000 in July 2016. The lot was assessed for $168,000 in 2016.

Renderings for the buildings show a passenger train rolling behind the building, and the building does in-fact border railroad tracks, but train-spotting potential residents will find themselves disappointed. Amtrak’s Hiawatha and Empire Builder trains do not utilize the track and instead rely on the northern Canadian Pacific mainline which goes through the Milwaukee Intermodal Station. The tracks are actively used by freight trains.

The Quin meets existing zoning for the site allowing the development team to build the project as of right, but  city approval was needed for one portion of the project’s design. Rinka Chung Architecture recently secured Common Council approval for a 99-year airspace lease for a portion of the building’s facade that would hang over the sidewalk.

The building is one of many new apartment developments in the Walker’s Point neighborhood, including the recently profiled Brix Apartments and Trio Apartments.

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