Former North Milwaukee H.S. Redevelopment Inches Forward

The Historic Preservation Commission unanimously endorsed an attempt to designate a former school as a national and state-recognized historic structure. Gorman & Company is proposing the designation as a means to access historic preservation tax credits that would support the building’s conversion to affordable housing.

The developer secured city approval to purchase the property in late 2020, and secured low-income housing tax credits in 2021 to advance the project. Plans call for 64 units of affordable housing within the 152,240-square-foot building, with the layouts split evenly between one- and two-bedroom floor plans. The affordable housing developer would add 11 three-bedroom townhomes to the site, 5372 N. 37th St. Gorman would pay $600,000 for the property.

It was one of many projects backed by Governor Tony Evers in a February grant announcement. Evers is allocating $1 million from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act award to the project because of increased construction costs.

The school, last known as Edison Middle School, has been vacant since Milwaukee Public Schools closed it in 2008. But MPS did not build the structure. It was built in 1924 as North Milwaukee High School for the then-separate Village of North Milwaukee. But by 1929, when the building’s first addition was completed, the village was annexed by the City of Milwaukee.

Designed and initially expanded in the Collegiate Gothic-style by the firm of Van Ryn & DeGelleke, the building is an “excellent example” of a Progressive Era school, consultant Shannon Winterhaltert told the commission Monday. The period ran from the 1890s to the 1930s and featured the dramatic expansion of public school amenities, including auditoriums, gymnasiums and science labs, as well as modern heating and plumbing. She said the building is worthy of designation an example of the building type in the former Village of North Milwaukee.

“These two sections read architecturally as one single building,” said Winterhalter of the 1924 and 1929 sections. The nomination establishes a period of significance from 1924 to 1929. All historically-sensitive redevelopment work would need to be targeted at bringing the structure in line with how it looked in that era.

Winterhalter’s firm, MacRostie Historic Advisors, is working to get the building historically listed so Gorman can access the historic preservation tax credits to cover 40% of applicable project costs. She detailed the historic features still evident in the building, including original windows and exposed woodwork, as well as the modifications made.

The building, after being absorbed into MPS, was renamed Custer High School and, after a 1956 addition, became the Edison Junior High School. From 1980 to 2008 it was known as Edison Middle School.

The building was slated to house Milwaukee Excellence charter school in 2015, but the charter school ultimately opted for a different former MPS building.

“Staff urges you to support the nomination for this fine building,” said HPC staffer Tim Askin.

At least one member is quite familiar with the building. Commission chair Patti Keating Kahn revealed that she attended school in the building.

Supporting the nomination requires little of the commission other than a thumbs-up. HPC doesn’t have the final say and is instead recommending the National Park Service and State Historic Preservation Officer designate it as historic. It rarely rejects such requests. The tax credits represent a “carrot” to encourage historic preservation, while the commission wields a “stick” on buildings it directly designates by prohibiting unapproved changes while not offering any direct incentives.

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