Developer Plans Hotel, Apartments Project

Another piece of the Park East corridor may be developed, though it’s the third plan proposed for this site.

Milwaukee based McClendon Capital Group, LLC, led by Cory McClendon, was awarded the option to purchase Block 22, a 2.2 acre parcel at 320 E. Ogden Ave., from Milwaukee County in the fall of 2020. According to a proposed Option to Purchase Agreement, the sale price for the land is $3.5 million.

According to a report prepared for the County Facilities Planning Steering Committee, McClendon plans a mixed-used development consisting of residential apartments and a hotel property.

On its website, McClendon Capital shows a rendering of a $60 million development on the Block 22 site it describes as a project to develop “a 159-key Radisson branded hotel and 122 mixed-income units.”

McClendon could not be reached for comment.

Block 22 is the last parcel of land still owned by the county. It was freed up for development in 2003 following the demolition of the Park East freeway spur. This land, known as the Park East Corridor, included lots west of the Milwaukee River that were sold to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2016 for development around Fiserv Forum. The lots on the east side of the river have been sold individually. 

McClendon is not the first developer to have an option to purchase the Block 22 parcel.

In 2013, a $60 million development proposal from The Opus Group and Mercy Housing Lakefront stalled at the county board as the developers sought an option to purchase. The deal eventually collapsed.

Two years later, Wangard Partners secured an option to purchase the land for $2.4 million. The company planned a $47 million development for the site. But the project never materialized and in 2018 the option to purchase lapsed. The county started accepting proposals again for the land in 2019. 

Under the Option to Purchase agreement, should McClendon sign it, his firm would have 12 months from the date the county executes the agreement to purchase the land, with options for two six month extensions. The developer must request the extensions and also pay the county $25,000.