New Apartments for 5th and National

A 133-year-old Walker’s Point building will find new life as a market-rate apartment building under a plan by developer Michael Morrison.

According to permits on file with the city, the redeveloped building at 425 W. National Ave. will contain 12 apartments and first-floor commercial space when work is complete. The $4 million project is being designed by Continuum Architects + Planners.

The three-story building has long been used as a rooming house, but was faced with a raze order from the city in 2016. Morrison was able to save the building from the wrecking ball by purchasing it and introducing a plan to aggressively rebuild the structure.

Because it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Morrison was able to leverage federal and state historic preservation tax credits to finance the building’s redevelopment. City records indicate the structure was first constructed in 1885.

Morrison leads Hartland-based home builder True Inc. This is his first large development in Milwaukee. But his firm is likely avoiding a number of headaches associated with scaling up an operation by serving as its own general contractor.

Future residents of the one- and two-bedroom units will find transportation convenient. A Bublr Bikes dock is outside along S. 5th St., a number of bus routes criss-cross the area and Morrison purchased a nearby surface parking lot along S. 4th St. for drivers.

You can get an up-close view of the progress at the 5th Street Festival this Saturday from noon until 10 p.m.

For more on the growth of 5th St., see my article “How a Road Diet Made 5th St. Fat.”

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