More Downtown Projects Moving Forward

The Sentinel Building. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The historic Sentinel Building, once home to the Milwaukee Sentinel newspaper, has been sold.

Matson Holbrook‘s firm MBH Investment Real Estate broked sale of the building at 225 E. Mason St. The 10-story office building was sold to an investment group Sentinel Suites LLC that lists Doug Young as its registered agent.

The investors will continue leasing the building to office tenants, but will rebrand the building as Sentinel Suites. Built in 1892, the building is currently half vacant. The development occurring in the surrounding area, and access to amenities like the riverwalk and streetcar were a draw for the new owner a press release said.

The building was acquired by Max Dermond in 2004 for $1.9 million according to city records. Sentinel Suites paid $1.5 million for the property.

Jeffers Changes Plans Downtown

Developer Joshua Jeffers is no longer planning the S Block as a mixed-use residential building, rather, he has plans for a slightly taller office building.

Jeffers bought the site at 511 N. Broadway less than a year ago and secured conceptual approval for plans that called for a seven-story building, with approximately 10,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space and apartments above.

Now Jeffers is planning a nine-story mixed use building with 10,000 square feet of retail space and more than 100,000 square feet of office space, Corrinne Hess reported this week.

The land is currently a parking lot. And it’s also immediately behind the Mackie Building, which Jeffers’ firm recently redeveloped.

Original Renderings

Haywood Joins Library Development

After failing to secure New Market Tax Credits the redevelopment of the Martin Luther King Library branch stalled. Now Kalan Haywood is partnering with development firm Young Development Group to work on the project moving forward.

Failing to secure the tax credits put a hole in the project’s financing package. Now Haywood comes on to help chart a path forward.

He brings with him his experience as a developer, which, according to a story by Tom Daykin in the Journal Sentinel, appears to be the main reason behind his addition to the team.

Bucks Considering “Daytime Uses” for the Bradley Center Site

Now that the Milwaukee Bucks‘ real estate affiliate has control of the BMO Harris Bradley Center site they are moving forward with the demolition of the massive facility. The team is required to do so within 12 months of opening the new arena, as part of the complex funding package that helped create the Fiserv Forum.

What happens next is now a key question.

Though nothing is a certainty at this point, a popular idea is that the development would be geared towards daytime uses like coffee shops, apartments or offices, Daykin reported in the Journal Sentinel.

In Other News:

• Check out the redevelopment of The Fortress
• A new grocery store is planned for downtown Milwaukee
• The Fiserv Forum held its first concert this week
• Friday Photos of the Symphony project

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