Condo Project Scrapped, River Site For Sale
Brady and Water site sits at key link between Downtown and East Side.
Brady & Water condominium rendering. Rendering by RINKA.
A large riverfront property just north of Downtown is on the market.
Real estate developer Wangard Partners is selling the 2.66-acre site at the intersection of E. Brady, N. Water and N. Jackson streets.
And with it, the condominium project proposed for the site is dead.
The asking price, through broker The Barry Company, is $6.5 million.
In late 2018, Wangard proposed to develop a phased, 250-unit condominium complex that would include three buildings and a new riverwalk segment. A 12-story building would have anchored the development, at 1693-1701 N. Water St.
But only a handful of condominium units have been developed in Milwaukee in the past decade, and Wangard has focused its attention outside of the city proper. It is pursuing a 400-unit housing development in Mount Pleasant and an even larger mixed-use development in Oconomowoc that will redevelop the Olympia Resort.
The firm’s most recent Milwaukee project was the Eagkleknit Innovation Hub, 507 S. 2nd St., in Walker’s Point.
The newly-listed property is located just west of the Holton Street Bridge, which is undergoing a major rehabilitation, and the Swing Park, which is due to be redesigned following the bridge project.
The property includes approximately 560 feet of river frontage, located well below street level. Much of the river-facing portion of the site is currently overgrown greenery, while the street-facing portion is a mix of gravel and weeds.
Wangard has owned the site since 2012, acquiring it for $2.4 million from Anchor Bank and proposing a smaller apartment complex before unveiling the condo plan. It was previously transferred to the bank by an affiliate of New Land Enterprises in a foreclosure settlement. New Land had created the site by acquiring the three-story house, long home to Mike and Mary Ellen Mervis, and the former Habhegger Wheel and Axle garage and parking lot. New Land, which has developed several buildings nearby, was pursuing a mixed-use project with a grocery store, but the Great Recession interceded.
In 2013, Habhegger moved its auto repair business to Glendale, and the remaining buildings were demolished in the next two years.
It’s now one of the few remaining vacant lots along the river.
A series of vacant lots to the east have been developed in recent years.
On the other side of the Holton Street bridge, construction is ramping up on the second phase of the River House development. The second phase will add 222 apartments to the 243-unit first phase, completed in 2017. Four floors of apartments will be visible from Water Street, with the buildings’ parking structures located below and serving to bridge the height difference between the street and river. More details on the River House project can be found in our October 2022 coverage.
East of the River House development, the EIGHTEEN87 on Water affordable housing development is nearly complete.
While not along the river, the property across N. Water Street from the Wangard site is also being developed. Construction is progressing on Elevation 1659, a five-story, 76-unit building on an unusually shaped and sloped site. The building’s name is a reference to its address on N. Jackson Street.
Closer to Downtown, The Barry Company holds the listing for the other major riverfront site on the market. On behalf of Marcus Corp., the brokerage is listing the 1.23-acre site at 1301-1357 N. Edison St.
The Wangard site is technically two parcels, 1693 N. Water St. and 1701 N. Water St.
Photos
Wangard Renderings
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