Inside Wisconsin’s Largest Private Affordable Housing Complex

The first residents were welcomed into the largest private, affordable development in Wisconsin history earlier this year. The Community Within The Corridor, a redevelopment of a former Briggs & Straton factory campus, opened its first apartments at N. 32nd St. and W. Center St. in July.

A partnership of Que El-Amin, Mikal Wesley, Rayhainio Boynes and Roers Companies is redeveloping the vacant, 6.99-acre manufacturing campus. Work is nearing completion with the 197 units effectively filling up as soon as they’re available.

The two-block campus lines the north side of W. Center St. just west of the 30th Street railroad corridor. Much of the six-building complex, the oldest portion of which dates back to 1906, has been vacant since the 1980s according to a 2020 city report. It was built in phases with a wide variety of building shapes and sizes, the result of which flows through to the units.

“Every unit is very, very different,” said Wesley on a Dec. 15 tour of the $68 million effort. Layouts include a mix of studio, one, two, three and four-bedroom floorplans. All of the three and four-bedroom units have been leased according to the leasing website.

Wesley, who led a tour for Department of City Development employees and Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee board members, said more funding needs to be secured to build out a community recreation center fully. The large, indoor space is still impressive, with an indoor playground and basketball courts on a concrete floor. A number of other tenant amenity spaces are finished.

“It’s going to be a really nice space when it’s all done,” said Wesley.

Construction work is still ongoing for the commercial spaces in the complex. A space to be used by Boynes’ business, at the southwest corner of the development, is nearing completion. A three-story building at the southeast corner, slated for El-Amin’s Young Enterprising Society based on an earlier site plan, still needs substantially more work.

The complex is planned to include 35,000 square feet of commercial space when the build-out is complete. An on-site daycare is planned.

Indoor, heated parking is included in the development and is a large laundry facility.

Rental rates are capped by the low-income housing tax credit program which uses a formula based on household size and income to target rents at approximately 30% of a household’s income.

The financing package for the project, based on a 2020 report, includes a variety of sources. The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority is providing $19.7 million in low-income housing tax credits. The National Park Service and state are providing $17.43 million in historic preservation tax credits, which requires much of the historic nature of the complex to be preserved. Other funding sources include a bank loan, $1 million of the city’s federal Community Development Block Grant allocation and a $3.15 million developer-financed tax incremental financing district. The district will effectively rebate increased property tax payments for a period of up to 20 years.

The design is being led by Continuum Architects + Planners and general contracting by Greenfire Management Services.

Master Lock, located across W. Center St., donated Bluetooth-activated locks for each of the apartments.

Photos

Rendering and Site Plan

Pre-Construction Photos