Renner Plans Third Ward Office Building

Developer and architect Peter Renner is seeking a tenant for a proposed Historic Third Ward office building.

The three-story building would be located at the intersection of E. Erie St. and N. Jefferson St. on land Renner acquired in 2013 from the Chicago and North Western Railway and in a subsequent land swap.

Renner, in an interview, said the building would be well suited for a firm with 50 to 100 employees.

The first floor would contain indoor parking for 23 vehicles, while the upper levels would contain a total of 16,000 square feet of office space. An open-air deck is planned over the first-floor lobby.

Renner Architects would develop the building for a tenant or sell the site out-right as a turnkey development. The site is known as 100 N. Jefferson St. in renderings, but is currently part of a larger parcel with the address of 520 E. Summerfest Pl.

“There is a lot of good pluses to that site,” said Renner. A project report highlights nearby restaurants, including DanDan, easy freeway access, and that “Erie Street is the safest street in the City of Milwaukee.” The site is across the street from the newly-constructed Trestle Park, built on another former segment of Chicago and North Western right-of-way.

Renner’s firm is located nearby at 643 E. Erie St. in the base of the Harbor Front Condominiums, a building the firm developed. It also developed the adjacent Hansen’s Landing Condominiums, Waterfront Condominiums across the river in Walker’s Point and BreakWater Condominiums on the northeastern corner of Downtown.

Renderings depict the building with a brick exterior and exposed wood interior, a style used in a number of Renner condominiums. But Renner said the design could be tweaked to suit the tenant.

He doesn’t foresee issues getting the office building approved, including by the Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board. “I don’t see how it would be a problem,” said Renner. “It fits in with their rules.”

Townhomes Planned To the East

To the east of the office building, Renner is planning to construct 13 townhomes. The project would be the first sizable condominium project since the Great Recession.

The design for the project was approved in 2017 and Renner said he hopes to start construction this spring if a telephone line can be relocated. “Resolvable, it’s just an expensive situation,” said Renner of the issue. He noted he’s already worked with We Energies to relocate overhead power lines and AT&T to relocate its infrastructure.

The back of the site borders the newly constructed home of the Milwaukee Ballet.