Jeramey Jannene
Friday Photos

The Lower East Side’s Rhythm

140-unit building recently opened, to be joined by a 33-unit sister building.

By - Jun 9th, 2017 04:31 pm
Rhythm Apartments. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Rhythm Apartments. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Rhythm apartments are ready for residents. Our photos capture a crew applying the finishing touches to the new apartment building at 1640 N. Water St., but a number of residents have already moved in to the building’s finished apartments.

Developed by a partnership of Tim Gokhman and Jim Wiechmann, the seven-story building includes 140 units. The majority of the units, 110, are under 600 square-feet in size. That space doesn’t feel small because of an obsessive attention to detail by the development team that includes right-sized appliances and a built-in queen bed that converts to a dining room table. Space savings are also found through the utility infrastructure, radiant heat is provided through the floors and a central hot water system eliminates the need for a water heater in every unit. In short, unlike many other studio or one-bedroom apartments, the space you’re leasing is almost entirely usable.

General contracting on the project is being led by Catalyst Construction. The $10 million project is being designed by Kindness Architecture and Planning, which was recently acquired by Eppstein Uhen Architects.

According to the New Land Enterprises website, rental rates range from $1,175 to $1,625 based on the size and location of the unit. All units include granite countertops, in-unit washer and dryer, Blomberg stainless steel appliances and a balcony. A fitness center and lounge is available fore tenants on the first floor. The building is pet friendly.

When construction began on this project in 2015, this area of the Lower East Side was often a ghost town. Today it feels like an identifiable, active place. A Bublr Bikes station, coffee shop, grocery store, gym and hundreds more apartments have made the intersection of N. Water St. and E. Pleasant St. a happening area. To the south the Mandel Group celebrated the grand opening of the fourth phase of The North End, dubbed Vignette, on Wednesday. Just across N. Water St. a new Fresh Thyme Farmers Market grocery store opened in the first floor of the Aperture apartments at The North End (see inside the apartments and read our coverage of the grocery store’s grand opening). The area just got another boost as well when Bader Rutter moved into 1433 Water, a new office building developed by Wangard Partners.

This is far from the only project Gokhman and Wiechmann have underway. In the past year they opened Trio Apartments in Walker’s Point. They’re developing a 13-story project that Gokhman’s firm New Land will ultimately manage. They’re also developing a an apartment building immediately behind Rhythm.

New Apartment Building Behind Rhythm

As our photos also capture, a site behind Rhythm at 1627 N. Jackson St. is being developed into an apartment building by Wiechmann and Gokhman that will have 33 rental units spread over five floors. Catalyst Construction is listed as the general contractor on permits and Scott Kindness of Eppstein Uhen Architects is listed as the architect.

A detailed planned development document on file with the city notes that the building is to include permeable pavement, solar panels and solar hot water.

The project is planned to include 19 surface parking spaces and 27 indoor parking spaces.

Photos

9 thoughts on “Friday Photos: The Lower East Side’s Rhythm”

  1. Jake says:

    Ugliest new building in Milwaukee, and their banners are Dumb with a capital “D”!

  2. Max says:

    This is such a hideous looking building…are these developers just giving up on building something that is aesthetically pleasing?!

  3. Jake says:

    Looks like it should be a jail!

  4. Jerry says:

    I drove by this building yesterday evening. Approaching the building on Water St. from the west going east, it was stunning.

  5. Tony B. says:

    I didn’t think they could build anything uglier than the one across the street from it. I guess I was wrong.

  6. Zach says:

    Who in the world chose the font on that?? Stop building generic-looking apartment buildings!

  7. Lee Ann says:

    So is someone going to help me to rent from them as their rents are crazy, I don’t know anyone in my income bracket who can afford those! And my building just went up $60 on rents this year due to the increases all around, at some point I am going to have to apply for low income housing and then we can talk ugly housing.

    Those buildings are raising rents all around and don’t tell me its not true. Supply and demand and the poor have no where to live. They are going to create more of a homeless problem at this rate.

  8. Dave Reid says:

    @Lee Ann, I rent a short walk from the Rhythm and my rent has been flat for a couple of years now.

  9. Adam says:

    @Lee Ann-
    Milwaukee desperately needs more people of means living within its bounds. And while I can sympathize with you being pushed out of your current location, there is no shortage of affordable rentals in MKE and there will not be for a long time.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us