Illinois-based Fairchild Acquisition has added another East Side apartment building to its portfolio.

On Monday, the firm acquired the 27-unit, L-shaped apartment building at 1925 N. Prospect Ave. Known as the Prospect Residence, the four-story building was constructed in 1916. It was designed by architect Martin Tullgren.

Fairchild, led by Samuel Grossman, has a goal of assembling a portfolio of 200 units. It paid $1.73 million for its latest acquisition, according to broker Nathan Glaisner of Verde Investments. The transaction has not yet been posted in the state real estate transfer database.

The building is listed on the state and national historic register as part of the Prospect Avenue Apartment Buildings Historic District, but is not locally protected. The district is a collection of 22 buildings built between 1903 and 1931. The cluster has one of the highest population densities in the state of Wisconsin.

According to the historic district report, the building once house nine apartments that varied from five to seven rooms, but was converted in 1950 into a girls’ dormitory with 43 sleeping rooms and 14 kitchens. It has since been converted back to more traditional apartments.

Fairchild acquired eight buildings, totaling 89 units, between October 2020 and June 2021. It added the Paul Weisse Furniture building at 1534-1542 N. Farwell Ave. to its portfolio last month and is securing approvals to convert it to 12 apartments. It has one additional building under contract.

Grossman, a Fox Point native, is assembling a portfolio between UW-Milwaukee and E. Ogden Ave. His firm lets leases lapse and then modernizes the units, giving them “condo-style” finishes and pushing them up-market in an effort to attract non-student residents at a higher price point.

“We believe in creating value in buildings by modernizing the interiors, while maintaining the historic look of the exterior and the balance goes along with it,” said Grossman in an April interview about his vision. He has executed a similar strategy in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood.

The seller, a trio of similarly named limited liability companies, was represented by Matt Whiteside from Marcus & Millichap. Glaisner has served as the broker on all of Fairchild’s Milwaukee acquisitions.

The building last sold in 2018 for $982,000 and is assessed for $1.12 million

Weekly Recap

Wisconsin Homes Prices Still Rising

There are still plenty of unknowns heading into the new year, but one thing is for sure: The cost of buying a house in Wisconsin is going up.

For years, the market has been defined by strong demand for homes and a declining number of them on the market. Month after month, prices have been rising — but month after month, homes have kept selling.

The latest report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association found about 7,714 sales of existing homes in November. That was 0.8 percent below the same period in 2020.

But sales for the first 11 months of the year are still 0.3 percent ahead of last year, which saw record sales of existing homes.

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Developer Will Transform Paul Weise Building

Illinois-based real estate investor Samuel Grossman is moving ahead on his proposal to redevelop the Paul Weisse Furniture Building into apartments.

An affiliate of Grossman’s investment group, Fairchild Acquisition, acquired the property, 1534-1542 N. Farwell Ave. in November for $900,000 and announced plans to convert the recently-closed furniture store into 11 apartments.

But plans filed with the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) show that the vision has grown. The effort now includes 12 apartments, a business center, tenant fitness facility and rooftop deck. A 10-stall parking lot would be included on the eastern side of the property.

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Questions About Foxconn Project Consultant’s $336,000 Pay

The project director hired to oversee the struggling Foxconn development in the Village of Mount Pleasant is consistently billing taxpayers for 40 hours per week, but records are unable to account for how all his time is being spent.

Claude Lois is a contracted consultant with engineering firm Kapur and Associates, and he works in Mount Pleasant’s Village Hall. His role as project director has no official job description, and records obtained by Wisconsin Public Radio of Lois’ time card and village-owned calendar do not match.

Lois does not provide public updates to the village on how his time is spent or have a direct boss overseeing his work. Village Administrator Maureen Murphy authorizes his $28,000 per month salary without further documentation. When pressed for further information, Murphy provided WPR with Lois’ 2017 contract.

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Alderman Wants Debate On Proposed Third Ward Theater

A proposal to build a new two-venue theater complex in the Historic Third Ward might get a public hearing after all. A rezoning request is pending before the Common Council. Without such a change, the project can be built without a formal public hearing.

“This is a humble attempt at getting a little more public input on a significant project,” said Alderman Robert Bauman, who has proposed the zoning change, in an interview. He represents the area where the complex would be built.

…

On Monday he admitted he might have already lost.

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Wisconsin Center Skywalk Design Okayed

Skywalks are a relatively new concept in Milwaukee. The city’s network, largely centered on Westown, was first constructed in the 1980s. But one span will soon be on its third iteration.

The first span connecting the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee Hotel, 333 W. Kilbourn Ave., with the convention center to the west opened in the early 1980s.

By the 1990s the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center and Arena (MECCA) facility was replaced by today’s Wisconsin Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave. The straight east-west span over N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. was extended with a 90-degree turn to connect with the new convention center.

In November it was demolished, because the convention center’s footprint will be changing as part of a $420 million expansion that will create a new front door on W. Kilbourn Ave.

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