KinetiK Rises on Kinnickinnic

The northern edge of Bay View is changing quickly. Michels Corp. is driving piles to build its River One complex along S. 1st St.. And now, New Land Enterprises‘ KinetiK apartment building has begun to rise.

The six-story, 144-unit apartment building is being built by Catalyst Construction. For much of the past few months, a handful of concrete columns that will support the building’s curved facade have stood sentry at the northern edge of the construction site. But in the last two weeks they’ve been joined by a quickly emerging concrete structure. The building’s two-floor concrete base will hold 183 parking stalls, commercial space and building amenities.

And within a couple months that concrete base will be supplanted by a four-story wood structure built atop the base. The apartments will be housed within the wood structure.

To create the site New Land, through its affiliate Hamburger Lofts LLC, purchased a number of parcels. The core of the site, a 0.8-acre lot 2130 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., was most recently occupied by Hamburger Mary’s restaurant. New Land acquired it for $1.25 million in 2017. The now-deconstructed building on the site was built for Burger King in 1985, but later housed an Omega restaurant.

Once finished, Milwaukeeans will find an area radically transformed from its fast food past. Along S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and its narrow sidewalks an arcade design will be incorporated into the building’s first level. The end product is intended to create an expanded, covered sidewalk by stepping back the first floor underneath the apartments above.

Sleepy E. Archer Ave., which formerly separated the site from Zillman Park, has been absorbed into the construction site. It will re-emerge as an outdoor patio to connect the building’s southern commercial tenant to the park. Three homes along the alley-like Archer Ave. were deconstructed, and the site of one will be used to construct a new alley for the street, connecting it with E. Bay St.

The city granted a zoning change for the project in 2017, and approved the Archer Ave. vacation in 2018. It was the third such variance for the area in recent years, with the nearby Stitchweld and Vue apartments also requiring zoning changes.

Apartment leasing information isn’t yet available online. But if you’re looking for anything from 1,300 to 16,455 square feet of commercial space, New Land is accepting inquiries. The company could also do what it’s done on the East Side and build a food hall in the space.

Korb + Associates Architects is leading the building’s design. The firm is working with New Land on a number of projects, including a mass timber office building in Westown and the tallest wood tower in North America in East Town.

The building is scheduled to open in 2020.

For more on the project and other projects New Land Enterprises is engaged in, listen to our City Beat podcast from December 19th with New Land director Tim Gokhman.

Photos

Renderings

Archer Ave Plans

Deconstruction

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