Riverfront Warehouse Being Demolished For Timber Tower

A key physical impediment to the development of a second mass timber high-rise in downtown Milwaukee is being removed.

A demolition crew is razing the one-story floral warehouse at 1005 N. Edison St. Located along the Milwaukee River, it was home to wholesale florist Rojahn & Malaney Co. since the 1950s.

A 15-story building with approximately 200 apartments would replace the warehouse. Commercial space targeted at a restaurant or cafe would be developed along the riverwalk.

Developed by Madison-based development firm The Neutral Project, the building, known as The Edison, would have a heavy emphasis on its environmental friendliness. Mass timber, an engineered material made by combining layers of wood, would be one of several sustainability-focused features of the project.

The Neutral Project, with design architect Michael Green Architecture and architect of record Angus-Young, secured multiple city approvals in 2021 to develop the building.

An affiliate of the company paid $4.12 million for the 0.56-acre site in Dec. 2021. In January 2022, firm principal Nate Helbach. said construction could begin that spring and be completed in time for a summer 2023 lease-up. But the building didn’t publicly move forward after that.

Representatives of The Neutral Project did not respond to Urban Milwaukee’s inquiry Friday if the mass timber building was moving forward.

However, earlier this year, The Neutral Project secured $73.8 million in project financing to move a similar project forward in Madison.

The Milwaukee project, slated for a site between Deer District and the downtown office core, would have plenty of amenities.

The third and 14th floors would include outdoor tenant decks and green roof components. The third-floor space would allow for tenant gardening in raised beds. The smaller fourth-floor deck would include private patios for adjoining units.

Four commercial stalls with a combined 5,141 square feet of space are planned for the west side of the building along the riverwalk. The south side, facing E. State St., would contain a small tenant lobby and the eastern side a bike storage room.

The building would have a three-story concrete base and then 12 floors of mass timber.

An automated parking system would be included in the base of the building, offering 102 spaces. That’s approximately half of the stalls included with most new high-end apartment buildings in Milwaukee.

“We believe the shift towards sustainable transportation options will be supported by ample [electric vehicle] charging, bike storage, EV bike share and a close proximity to rapid transit,” said Helbach in August 2021 to a city committee. “Further, a reduction in single-occupancy vehicle trips by residents will be encouraged through our electric vehicle car share and bike share.”

The new building would include completing the riverwalk segment, which currently abruptly ends at the northern edge of the property.

Whether the tower moves forward or not, the demolition project erases a building that seemed increasingly out of place as a growing emphasis is placed on connecting the city with its waterways.

The building would be the third mass timber project in Milwaukee. The 25-story, 259-apartment Ascent tower was completed last summer and is now the tallest mass timber building in the world. The four-story Timber Lofts, a modern addition to a historic warehouse, was completed in 2020.

Because it mimics many of the properties of old-growth lumber, mass timber is more desirable than conventional wood construction. It only chars (rather than burning through) in a fire, reduces on-site construction time and offers enhanced strength.

The engineered material offers substantial environmental benefits over steel or concrete. Because it weighs less, it also can reduce the size of a building’s foundation allowing faster construction. It also offers an aesthetic benefit that developers are betting will generate a competitive advantage.

Neutral Project’s 2021 purchase technically includes two properties. A 5,875-square-foot surface parking lot at 100-110 E. State St. and the 18,640-square-foot warehouse property. The two would be combined for the new tower. A city-owned, park-like site to the north would be used as a plaza.

The new building is being designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard. The building is also intended to meet Passive House energy use certification, a voluntary standard for low energy consumption. A third-party analysis would be completed to verify the project’s integrity.

Photos

Renderings and Pre-Demolition Photos