The Department of City Development is again trying to sell a mixed-use building near Interstate 43 and W. Capitol Dr.

The two-story, 2,398-square-foot building at 1246 W. Atkinson Ave. includes a first-floor commercial space and a one-bedroom apartment above. The asking price is $7,500.

The building, according to permit records, has been home to a dress shop, leather goods store, auto parts, combined barber shop and sauna, beauty salon and record store since it was constructed in 1924. A plumber’s office and a real estate investment firm were poised to be added the list.

In July 2020, the council approved an agreement to sell the building for $8,500 to master plumber Richard Hale as an office for his two businesses, R. Hale Plumbing and Lena 31:10 Investment. But the sale never closed. A DCD report said there were multiple bidders, but none are apparently pursuing the property today.

DCD relisted the building in late 2021, asking $1,000 less than last time. Hale was reported to be planning to invest $30,000 in renovating the property.

The property is closing in on a decade of city ownership. The city acquired the building through property tax foreclosure in 2014 from Berm Construction Development Group. City photos from 2014 show the first floor configured as a salon. It was assessed for $35,300 at the time of foreclosure.

Decades ago the property was owned by the adjacent Holy Recovery International Church. But the church itself could be on the move. In May 2020, a boarded-up, two-story building at 1228-1232 W. Atkinson Ave. collapsed onto the one-story church, 1238 W. Atkinson Ave. The city agreed to pay a $50,000 settlement to church last month. Holy Recovery is operating out of temporary space on W. Silver Spring Dr. The church structure remains in a damaged, boarded-up state.

Additional information on the for-sale property is available in a DCD property listing flier.

Weekly Recap

Milwaukee Tool Begins Employee Move-In

Milwaukee Tool began welcoming employees to its new downtown office this week.

First announced in spring 2021, the company is redeveloping the five-story, 370,000-square-foot building at 501 W. Michigan St.

About 400 employees now have their office on the third and fourth floor of the building, while construction is still ongoing.

“Additional employees will move in throughout the spring, fall, and winter. We’re on track for meeting our commitments with the city,” said a company spokesperson via email Friday.

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Marquette Announces Next Building Project

Marquette University is pursuing a plan to expand the Helfaer Tennis Stadium and Recreation Center, 525 N. 16th St., into a full-fledged wellness facility.

The expanded building would include the existing rec center as well as the university’s counseling center and medical clinic.

University President Michael R. Lovell announced the $80 million project during his annual campus address Thursday. Fundraising is already underway following an anonymous pledge to match up to $10 million to integrate the university’s health, wellness and recreation services.

The expanded facility will contain 180,000 square feet of space. It is to be funded by a combination of donations, external partnerships and university capital. An existing recreation and wellness fee will support the project’s development.

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Habitat for Humanity Program Nurtures Homeownership

Wendy Winston has known about Habitat for Humanity for the last 15 years, but it wasn’t until she had her daughter that she decided to become a homeowner.

And she said it was the best decision she’s ever made. Winston and her 5-year-old daughter, Namirah Joy, now live in her dream home in the Midtown area.

In November of 2020, Winston applied for Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program while still looking for places to rent. She was accepted and started working on her “sweat equity” hours by March of 2021 and was in her new home by September.

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Foreclosure Fiasco Costing Taxpayers Nearly $200,000

Normally, the biggest risk for the city in acquiring a building via property tax foreclosure is that it ends up with a dilapidated structure that needs to be demolished.

But a vacant, eight-unit apartment building at 8940 N. Michele St. broke the mold. Through an unusual series of circumstances, a $100,000 profit became a $192,000 loss.

City Wide Investments, which owns a number of rental properties in Milwaukee, had accumulated an approximately $49,000 debt to the city after failing to pay property taxes from 2012 to 2015. The city took ownership of the then-vacant property in January 2016 via foreclosure. Later that year, City Wide was scheduled to appear before the Common Council to pay the back taxes and have the property returned, but no representative appeared. In March 2017 the Department of City Development sold the property for $150,000 after receiving only one bid after listing it for sale.

Then things went sideways.

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New Program Aids Homeowners Facing Back Taxes

A new public-private partnership offers a pathway for low-income homeowners to stay in their homes.

The City of Milwaukee takes ownership of houses via property tax foreclosure after taxes go unpaid for multiple years. In many cases, the occupants can stay in the home but as renters, not homeowners.

Each year, dozens of city residents appear before the Common Council to buy their property back, needing to pay any unpaid taxes, interest, water service charges, municipal service fees and any other outstanding fees. The City Treasurer’s Office advises the individuals of a specific amount, down to the penny, that must be presented by the time of the council meeting.

The amount can be daunting for the often low-income individuals. But a new program from ACTS Housing and the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee provides a loan for the balance, as well as additional funding to make code compliance-related repairs to the house.

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Council Ends Battle Over Couture, City Attorney

The Milwaukee Common Council pulled the plug on its $90,000 fight with City Attorney Tearman Spencer over whether it acted legally in requiring a $100,000 private donation. It has spent approximately $30,000 on the matter already.

Spencer, in March 2021, refused to sign off on the complicated agreement for the $190 million The Couture after Alderman Robert Bauman added an amendment that required the development team to contribute $100,000 to the anti-displacement fund administered by the nonprofit MKE United. Bauman negotiated the amendment directly with developer Rick Barrett after Barrett Lo Visionary Development failed to start construction by the prior agreement’s start date and was seeking a liability shield for its investors. Spencer has repeatedly accused Bauman of breaking the law and committing ethical violations for making the council-approved deal.

Common Council President Cavalier Johnson, in early 2021, negotiated a deal where the apartment tower could move forward while Spencer and the council continued their fight. A third-party attorney would be paid up to $45,000 to rule on the case while the council would spend $45,000 on hiring an outside attorney.

But after the third-party attorney, retired judge Chuck Kahn, had to pull out on the case, Bauman sought to end the deal.

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Where Do City’s Felled Trees Go?

Lumber became headline news in 2021 when prices jumped more than 300% amid a pandemic-induced production slowdown and a surge in demand. Could the City of Milwaukee’s street trees help solve the problem?

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs said a number of developers reached out to her about how the rising lumber costs were complicating their development projects.

“It just made me think of the fact that we deal with a lot of lumber as a city,” said Coggs to members of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee last Tuesday. “We’re taking down trees all the time.”

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