Bucks Player’s Development Faces Delay

Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton‘s plan to develop a high-end apartment building at 1245-1247 N. Milwaukee St. has hit a snag. Preservation advocate Dawn McCarthy has applied for local historic designation for the Victorian Gothic house that currently occupies the site.

Connaughton, through his development firm Beach House, plans to demolish the duplex and construct a three-story, three-unit apartment building on the site.

City assessment records indicate the house was built in 1899, but McCarthy’s application states the building dates back to 1865. It was converted to a duplex in 1918.

Her research, compiled into a report that has been submitted to the Historic Preservation Commission, notes that an architect for the property is unknown as is the exact year it was built. But records indicate people were living in the building since 1865.

The building’s most notable resident, according to McCarthy, was Theo F. Schutz, an architect who later served as the City of Milwaukee Building Inspector. McCarthy’s research gives the Hambach & Hellmann Meat Store building at 1024 E. Brady St., later part of Glorioso’s, as his most notable work.

“The significance of this site and structure is it is one of the last historic single-family residences in the downtown area,” wrote McCarthy in her application. The home, situated on the north end of the Milwaukee School of Engineering campus, sits between a large swath of East Town that was demolished with federal urban renewal funds and redeveloped into Juneau Village Towers and the former Park East Freeway corridor.

The Historic Preservation Commission, which is scheduled to meet Monday, will next review whether McCarthy’s application warrants temporary historic designation, which would serve as an injunction against demolition or any exterior modification for a period of up to 180 days. If the temporary historic designation is granted, the commission must consider permanent historic designation within that window.

The Common Council can overrule a decision to grant permanent historic designation. It could also allow Connaughton to demolish the structure even if the home is historically protected.

The 26-year-old Bucks guard, who has been with the team since the start of the 2018-19 season, acquired the property in March for $325,000 according to city records. His firm had applied for a raze permit for the property on October 8th.

The new building would have a variety of unit sizes, owing in part to the sloped site, placing a fourth floor below grade from N. Milwaukee St. Two apartments will span two floors, a 1,476-square-foot unit and 3,132-square-foot unit. A third apartment will have one bedroom and 840 square feet of space.

The athletic shooting guard spent the first three seasons of his career in Portland, where his firm recently completed a four-unit project.

He’s also working on projects in South Bend, Indiana where he attended college at Notre Dame. Pat’s father, Len, has worked as a general contractor for decades and now works for Beach House. The family is from the Boston area.

The Milwaukee project is being designed by Nathan Remitz of Patera according to city records.

The two-sport star has earned approximately $4.5 million in salaries during his basketball career according to Basketball-Reference.com. Connaughton is scheduled to be paid $1.7 million this season.

Connaughton told CloseUp360.com earlier this year that “around 10” professional athletes have invested in his firm. Connaughton has connections beyond the NBA: the college baseball pitcher was drafted by MLB’s Baltimore Orioles in 2014 and the team controls his rights through 2020.

Editor’s note: Connaughton was drafted by the Orioles in 2014, not 2004 as the story originally indicated.

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Related Legislation: File 191144