Bucks Guard Sells Brewers Hill Property
Pat Connaughton's company gets cold feet. Plus: A recap of the week's real estate news.
1737 N. Palmer St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A firm affiliated with Milwaukee Bucks guard and real estate developer Pat Connaughton sold its interest in a Brewers Hill property where it once intended to construct a six-story apartment building.
Three Leaf Partners filed plans in August 2021 with the Historic Preservation Commission to develop a 50-unit apartment building at the southwest corner of N. Palmer St. and E. Vine St. The proposal was a scaled-up version of a 2020 plan to construct a four-story, 13-unit building on only a portion of the site.
Instead, Three Leaf sold the site for $500,000 on Oct. 17. The property, 1737 N. Palmer St., includes a two-story, Cream-City-brick building.
Godfrey & Kahn attorney Jeffrey Billings is listed as the agent for both the buyer and seller according to state real estate transfer records. But the sale is listed as an arms-length transaction, indicating the two entities are not affiliated. A representative of Three Leaf confirmed the firm sold the property.
Billings is also listed in state corporate records as the registered agent for the entity that purchased the property, 1737 N Palmer, LLC. No additional information on the buyer is publicly available.
The sale does not include a 15,100-square-foot surface parking lot to the north that was included in the larger apartment proposal. That lot, 1751 N. Palmer St., is owned by an entity affiliated with the Alexander Company, which redeveloped the F. Mayer Boot and Shoe Company Building to the west. It was previously owned by developer Rick Wiegand, who also owned the Connaughton property until selling it to Three Leaf in 2020.
Ironically, it is the parking lot, not the building, that is historically protected. The lot is part of the city-designated Brewer’s Hill Historic District, which also includes a number of Italianate homes to the north. The new owner could proceed with redeveloping just the building site without historic commission oversight.
Three Leaf has completed two projects in the city: A three-story apartment building at 1245-1247 N. Milwaukee St. and a two-story, mixed-use building at 1697-1699 N. Marshall St. that primarily faces E. Brady St. It is also invested in the Taxco Apartments building in Walker’s Point and the proposed 2644 N. Hackett Ave. apartment building. It also has engaged in a number of suburban projects, has a 175-acre, multi-use proposal in Janesville and several projects in other markets where Connaughton has played.
Renderings and Site Plan
2020 Photos
An earlier version of this article said Wiegand owned the parking lot. It was sold to the Alexander Company.
Weekly Recap
Plan To Convert Carleton School To Housing Revived
A proposal to convert the former Carleton Elementary School into affordable apartments is again moving forward, but with a revised $18 million plan and expanded project team. It came before the City Plan Commission on Monday.
The Common Council had originally approved selling the property to the development team back in May 2019, but the actual development has been effectively paused since September 2019 as the Plan Commission held off on making a recommendation on a zoning change because of a nonappearance by one of the team members and concerns about the project.
“Obviously then COVID hit and the world changed, but they have stuck with the project,” said Department of City Development planning manager Sam Leichtling to the Plan Commission on Monday.
The commission unanimously recommended the council approve a zoning change for the project, but not before hearing about the new plan and weathering complaints from area residents.
Construction Starts on Elevation 1659 Apartments
A new apartment complex will soon link the cluster of new buildings near E. Pleasant St. and N. Water St. with Brady Street.
Elevation 1659, as the five-story, 76-unit building is known, will rise at the intersection of N. Jackson St. and N. Water St. The heavily sloped site sits on the inside of Water Street’s bend into Brady Street.
Ogden Multifamily Partners secured zoning approval for the market-rate project in 2019. “There probably isn’t a better undeveloped piece of land in the city for a multifamily building,” said Ogden partner Jason Pietsch in a 2019 interview with Urban Milwaukee.
Construction, led by Peridot, is now underway on the project. But getting to that point was no easy feat, Pietsch told the City Plan Commission on Monday.
The developer said construction estimates revealed the first cost increase in 2019, and then in 2021 costs went up another 12%. By January 2022, construction costs had risen by a total of 16%. Between January and April, costs rose another 16% to a $21.5 million buildout cost.
Vacant Lot Near Bay View Cottages For Sale
Looking for a spot to build your dream house near Lake Michigan with easy access to Downtown? A vacant lot on S. Superior St. in Bay View is on the market.
The Konicek brothers are selling a 4,972-square-foot lot at 2526 S. Superior St. that is the missing tooth in an otherwise intact row of 1860s worker cottages. The property listing includes a conceptual design for a two-story, 2,584-square-foot house. The three-bedroom plan includes an attached “mother-in-law suite” above the rear garage, suggesting the potential for a duplex, large home office or crash pad for your friends and family.
The neighborhood has seen steadily rising property values for at least two decades, owing to its walkability, proximity to Downtown via multiple routes and varied housing stock. But finding a place to build a new house often involves tearing down an earlier house, adding cost and potentially causing neighborhood acrimony.
Brothers Ryan and Chris Konicek acquired the vacant lot and one of the seven cottages in December 2020 for $230,000, triggering a historic preservation nomination for the entire row from a nearby resident who feared a teardown and larger replacement. In March 2021, the Historic Preservation Commission unanimously recommended the district be created, over the objections of the Koniceks and two other property owners. But under the request of nearby resident and area alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, the Common Council has delayed acting on the designation. It would be officially dead in March 2023, though it has been practically dead since September 2021 when the 180-day temporary designation for the Konicek’s property, 2530 S. Superior St., expired.
Bucks Building Street Through Bradley Center Site
The Milwaukee Bucks and City of Milwaukee are moving forward on a plan to build a new street through the Bradley Center site.
An extension of N. 5th St. would be built north from W. State St. to W. Highland Ave. and Fiserv Forum. W. Highland Ave. between N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. and N. 6th St., which resembles a large sidewalk more than a street, would be dedicated as a pedestrian corridor.
The proposal is being advanced as part of a proposal by FPC Live to build a two-venue concert complex at the northeast corner of the site, near the Deer District plaza. The one-block segment of N. 5th St. would be built as a privately-owned street, with sidewalks and space for parking tour buses and trucks.
“It will function as a public road most of the time unless it is closed for an event,” said area Alderman Robert Bauman when the Public Works Committee considered the easement proposal on Wednesday. The public access easement’s adoption is structured as conditional given the potential that the Common Council could reject the concert venue.
A New Design For Prospect Avenue Tower
A proposal to develop a new apartment tower behind a historic mansion has new life.
A 25-story apartment building would be constructed behind the Goll Mansion, 1550 N. Prospect Ave., on the Lower East Side. The $69 million project would include 192 high-end apartments overlooking Lake Michigan. It’s a revised version of a 2017 proposal that secured zoning approval only after a series of controversial votes.
The revised building is shorter and further set back from an adjacent condominium tower. 1550, as the proposed tower is known, would rise 277 feet versus the earlier 27-story, 301-foot-tall proposal. The revised tower would also be set back 60 feet from 1522 on the Lake, an increase of nine feet. The residents of 1522 led the opposition to prior proposals for the site.
The changes could be helpful to secure the necessary zoning modification to build the revised proposal. If the new proposal isn’t approved, the site’s owner could still build the earlier proposal as the 2017 zoning change remains in effect. Area Alderman Robert Bauman voted against the last proposal, but a majority of the Common Council backed the project.
Proposed Iron District Soccer Team Would Start Play in 2025
A men’s professional soccer team proposed for Milwaukee now has a start date and a league. A name, and many other components of the potential franchise, remain to be finalized.
The outdoor team, which would play at the proposed 8,000-seat Iron District stadium in the southwest corner of Downtown, would compete in the USL Championship league. The professional league is one level below Major League Soccer. Milwaukee Pro Soccer, as the local organization is currently known, would launch the team in 2025.
“This is an announcement we’ve been working towards behind the scenes for years, and I’m thrilled to bring high-level professional soccer to the city of Milwaukee,” said Jim Kacmarcik, chairman and CEO of Kacmarcik Enterprises and the head of the ownership group, in a statement. “Major cities have professional soccer clubs, and we’re proud to deliver that to Milwaukee – a premier sports city with a rich soccer culture that runs deep throughout our community.”
The league currently has 27 teams, including nearby teams in Indianapolis, Detroit, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Memphis. A Queens, New York team is set to join in 2023 and a Des Moines team in 2025. Four teams owned by MLS teams as part of that league’s second-level (MLS Next PRO) are expected to exit the league at the end of the season.
Reserve on The River Inches Towards Groundbreaking
The long-awaited second phase of a four-building apartment complex along the Milwaukee River is moving closer to groundbreaking.
On Monday, the City Plan Commission unanimously endorsed revisions to the River House complex’s design. It would add 222 additional apartments to the 243-unit first phase, which was completed in 2017. The remaining development site is located at 1881 N. Water St., just east of N. Holton St.
When complete, the second phase and the under-construction EIGHTEEN87 on Water development, would complete the riverwalk between N. Holton St. and N. Humboldt Ave. A new accessible accessway between the two projects is planned as part of the market-rate River House development.
Developer Atlantic Realty Partners, also known as Atlantic Residential, needs to amend the 2015 zoning approval for the former Gallun Tannery site to increase the allowed number of apartments, increase the number of parking spaces, reconfigure the riverwalk component and modify one of the building entrances. The size of the two buildings will not appreciably change, with 15 apartments being added by reconfiguring floor plans.
Church Mutual Opens Milwaukee Office With Support From Former Packers
Church Mutual Insurance Company now has a big-city office to go with its northern Wisconsin headquarters.
The insurance firm opened a 10,000-square-foot office Tuesday on the sixth floor of the 833 East building. It includes a conference room named for a former Green Bay Packers player. There are 30 employees in the space today, with plans to grow to 60.
“When we decided on Milwaukee we were very purposeful,” said president and CEO Rich Poirier in a ceremony. He said the decision stems back to when he joined the company in 2011. An analysis showed that more than 50% of its policyholders are either Latino, African American or Asian. “It was an ‘ah-ha moment.’ As a mutual company we are owned by our policyholders. So we began our journey that day to open this office in Milwaukee.”
When the office was announced in June 2021, Poirier also said an urban office in a big city would help attract new workers that might not want to work at the company’s headquarters north of Wausau in Merrill (population 9,081). The company said it conducted a national search for the location.
City Can’t Figure Out What To Do With Northridge Menards Proposal
A proposal for Wisconsin-based retailer Menards to invest in its property next to the dilapidated Northridge Mall seems like it would be welcomed with open arms. But the project is instead becoming a showcase of the city’s challenges with redeveloping the area while the mall itself continues to cast a blighting influence.
Menards and Pick ‘n Save opened stores adjacent to the mall in 2005, approximately two years after the shopping center closed as part of an initial redevelopment effort. But the Pick ‘n Save closed in 2015. Menards bought the property and repurposed the building, with city support, into a self-storage facility. Now it’s struggling to get that same support to repurpose the Pick ‘n Save parking lot into an outdoor self-storage complex.
On Monday, the City Plan Commission held off acting on a rezoning request from Menards, and instead directed the retailer and the Department of City Development to work on a strategy that would place more guard rails into the retailer’s proposal. The commission’s concerns are primarily about what happens after Menards closes its store or how the proposal would interact with any future Northridge redevelopment.
The debate comes as the city fights the mall’s Chinese-based ownership group in court. The next major deadline is Oct. 31, by which time the ownership group must pay a $109,000 fine or face a lien from the city. It is still likely to be several years before the shuttered mall is demolished.
Group Unveils Plans To Replace 794 With Boulevard
A new coalition, known as Rethink 794, has a vision to see Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee replaced with a boulevard. It’s a proposal the group thinks could save money, grow Milwaukee and better connect the city.
Their proposal, which they’re asking the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to study, would keep the Hoan Bridge. But the east-west elevated freeway between N. Lincoln Memorial Dr. and N. 6th St. would be replaced with a street-level boulevard.
The coalition released renderings Monday of what the reconfigured street could look like, with the Historic Third Ward reconnected to Downtown. It will host a webinar Wednesday, Oct. 19 at noon to further discuss its idea and call for a formal study.
“Is the best possible use of the space an elevated freeway? This is the most valuable real estate in all of Wisconsin,” said 1000 Friends of Wisconsin transportation policy analyst Gregg May, a leader of the coalition, in an interview.
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