Beverage Company Relocating To Walker’s Point

The brothers behind ZYN, a turmeric-infused beverage, are moving to redevelop a Walker’s Point warehouse for their company, SUR Natural Health Brands.

Brothers Asim and Qasim Khan, through SUR, purchased the 32,508-square-foot building at 913-919 W. Bruce St. in September for $440,000. A city building permit refers to the development as “Zyn HQ” and another indicates the Cream City brick building will see many of its filled-in windows reopened and its facade rehabilitated.

A rezoning request is now pending before the Common Council that would “facilitate a food and beverage-oriented development with both industrial and commercial uses.”

The zoning change is backed by the Department of City Development and Menomonee Valley Partners (MVP) business improvement district.

MVP said it conducted outreach to nearby property owners and found support. “While we heard no concerns from neighbors, we did hear from several neighbors supporting the rezoning and excited to see the renovation of this property as well as excited to see the property attract new businesses to the area,” wrote MVP executive director Corey Zetts in a letter to the City Plan Commission.

The zoning change was requested by SUR and Birch Point Real Estate. A representative of Birch Point declined to comment until after the upcoming City Plan Commission.

According to a commercial alteration permit, Workshop Architects and general contractor Rafael Suncin are working on the project.

The commission and council will both review the proposed change.

SUR is currently located in an office building in the Village of Shorewood.

The council approved a certified survey map (property reconfiguration) request Wednesday that merged the Khan’s Bruce Street property with the parking lot portion of the adjacent property at 929-939 W. Bruce St. The building at 929 W. Bruce St. was not included in the merger and is still owned by Brittain Brothers LLC according to city records.

City assessment records indicate the Khan’s Bruce Street building was built in 1888, though the Wisconsin Historical Society pegs the date as 1902. The latter reports it was used by the Interior Woodwork Co. and Hesco. A one-story addition was built in more recent years.

Founders 3 brokers Brett Deter and Brian Flood represented the Khan brothers in their purchase. The property was acquired from Raphael Industries. The building was registered as vacant in 2020, having most recently been used for metal plating.

The SUR project isn’t the only development happening in the area. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is leading a project that will partially fill in the Burnham Canal, located just a block north of Bruce Street. Construction work on that effort is underway.

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