Pattee Considering Options for Mitchell Street Property

Developer Ryan Pattee acquired the two-building complex at 729-737 W. Historic Mitchell St. in August. But what comes next remains up in the air.

“It was a speculative buy,” said Pattee in an interview. “It was a very good price per square foot.”

The developer paid $330,000 for the 27,000-square-foot complex, approximately $12 per square foot.

The two properties have a combined assessment of $466,600, but no commercial tenant anymore after A-1 Beauty moved out. The cosmetics and beauty supply shop owned both properties and occupied the first floor. The smaller property at 729-731 W. Historic Mitchell St. is assessed at $121,700. The larger property, 733-737 W. Historic Mitchell St., is located on the corner and assessed for $344,900.

Built in 1925, the Wisconsin Historical Society says the smaller building was historically home to Heller Bros. Grocery and Meats. While the larger building, built in 1929, was historically known as the Ignatz Czerwinski Investment Property according to the historical society report. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making rehabilitation work eligible for historic preservation tax credits.

But what the Pattee Group will do with the properties remains undecided. The developer told Urban Milwaukee’s he considering multiple offers, one of which could involve selling the building to a prospective tenant.

“We will know more in the next couple of days,” said Pattee.

The developer has already rehabbed one property on the street, 1104 W. Historic Mitchell St., which is now home to Scout Gallery. Pattee bought the building from the city in 2018. He originally envisioned leasing out the building the space to multiple artists and micro-entrepreneurs, before finding Jeff and Dana Redmon to serve as an anchor tenant (we recently profiled the gallery in our Art Scene column).

But regardless of what happens with his two new buildings on Mitchell Street, Pattee isn’t standing still. He’s working on landing tenants for properties he’s acquired on the Near West Side.

Buildings

Scout Gallery

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An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the size of the building, affecting the cost per square foot calculation.