Neighbors Give Up, Historic Commission Rules Summit Homes Not Historic

After more than a year of inaction, neighbors and the Historic Preservation Commission threw in the towel on the historic protection of East Side two houses slated for demolition and replacement with an apartment building.

The commission voted Monday afternoon to deny the permanent designation of the houses at 2275 N. Summit Ave. and 2279 N. Summit Ave. No one even spoke in favor of their designation.

“What has transpired?” asked Commissioner Sally Peltz. “It’s just odd to me that there was so much noise to this.” In August 2021, the commission granted the two houses temporary historic designation, effectively a six-month restraining order against demolition so a permanent designation can be considered. In January 2022, the commission, with the consent of the property owner, held off on a decision so that neighborhood resident, preservation advocate and designation applicant Dawn McCarthy could work with a consultant on a proposal to expand the neighboring historic district. McCarthy submitted a proposal to expand the district in August 2022, but withdrew it before the commission could debate it.

Commission staffer Carlen Hatala said there were issues with the consultant and that members of the Historic Water Tower Neighborhood decided they didn’t have the time to move forward. The houses, since shortly before the temporary designation was put in place, have sat with siding and other fixtures removed. The interior of both houses was damaged due to an unfulfilled request to turn off water service in late 2020.

Alderman-in-waiting Jonathan Brostoff, the only candidate on the November ballot, spoke against the designation. “I think it’s very unlikely they ever get restored to their historic levels,” said Brostoff.

He said he thought a “line of distinction” would be maintained between the single-family and duplex homes to the east and the multi-family development to the west. The wood-frame, 1889 houses are across the street from the city’s North Point South Historic District, which includes some of the city’s most valuable homes. The district does not include the west side homes, despite that they are from a similar era and subdivision. Historic commission staffer Tim Askin said in August 2021 that he thought they were excluded in the 1980s as a “classist oversight.” The two houses are two-story, 1,662-square-foot structures. They were developed by William Spence, of whom little is known other than he likely built a number of homes across the city.

The denial doesn’t mean the new apartment building is cleared for construction, a fact Brostoff emphasized. In August 2021, then-alderman Nik Kovac said the development plans presented generated the most significant opposition to any zoning change he had seen from neighbors.

Developer Brian Wagner of TamaRock Ventures is seeking to develop a seven-story, 90-unit apartment building on the corner of N. Summit Ave. and E. North Ave. The L-shaped building would include the site of the two houses as well as the E. North Ave. lots where Wagner demolished two 1940s, four-unit buildings without issue.

Wagner’s investment group, E North LLC, was represented on Monday by attorney Michelle Ebben from Michael Best & Friedrich and Stevens Construction CEO Mark Rudnicki who maintained the group’s objection to the designation. The board of East Side Milwaukee Business Improvement District #20 also submitted a letter in opposition.

A January 2022 staff report recommended the houses be given protection given the embodiment of their architectural style and portrayal of the environment of a historic period in city history. “These cottages are significant survivors of the type of worker housing that was being built at the end of the 19th century,” says the staff report. It said they were better examples of the period and in better condition than many of the comparable homes in Walker’s Point and the Lower East Side.

Wagner’s E North LLC paid $425,000 combined for the two houses. It paid $1.2 million combined for the 1940s buildings, 2231 E. North Ave. and 2239 E. North Ave. In November 2020, Wagner requested the water be shut off to all four properties, but it was only shut off to the North Avenue properties. Pipes burst in the unoccupied Summit Avenue homes, which an attorney claimed Wagner only became aware of in May 2021.

Peltz cast the lone dissenting vote against denying designation.

Designation would not have blocked the future demolition of the houses, but would have required Wagner’s group to apply for a certificate of appropriateness to do so.

March 2021 Renderings

August 2021 Photos

2020 Site Photos