Commercial Kitchen Launches At Concordia 27

CFI’s Food and Nutrition Service team members Stan Pinkney (left) and Hector Slawson work on their knife skills in the commercial kitchen at Concordia 27. Photo taken Feb. 15, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.

For years, residents of the Near West Side have asked for better access to fresh food, health and wellness services, affordable housing, community gathering spaces and workforce training opportunities. A redevelopment project has a plan to meet all of those requests and more.

Concordia 27 has been progressing steadily for nearly 10 months at the corner of N. 27th and W. Wells streets. The $20 million project, expected to wrap up by early 2025, will see a vacant four-story, 97-year-old building redeveloped into a comprehensive community hub.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to have a really beautiful building. But it’s really the collaboration and the partnerships happening within that are going to bring it to life,” said Lindsey St. Arnold Bell, executive director of Near West Side Partners.

Once construction is complete, the neighborhood organization plans to move its offices into the building, 801-813 N. 27th St., where it will join anchor tenant Centers for Independence (CFI). Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee (SWIM), a trauma-informed wellness organization, and Fruition MKE, a cafe and coworking space, will also take up residence. The development is led by Rick Wiegand, who owns several properties in the neighborhood. Quorum Architects is leading the project’s design

While a historic rehab is advancing throughout the majority of the building, the first phase of the project is already operational. A commercial kitchen space, operated by CFI, is churning out daily lunches for choice and charter schools throughout the greater Milwaukee area.

CFI’s Food and Nutrition Service team is at the kitchen before sunrise on weekdays, portioning out fruit and milk, chopping vegetables and preparing snacks such as granola bars. The meals incorporate local fruits, vegetables and meats, as well as greens grown on-site using technology from Fork Farms.

“We wanted to leverage what we do as a large food provider to help positively influence the food system and really make a dent in that food insecurity that is especially felt in the Near West Side,” said Heidi Chada, vice president of employment for CFI. “School nutrition is a really substantial way to do that.”

The new kitchen space is multifaceted. Along with providing nourishing food to students, CFI plans to host schools for educational field trips, during which students will learn about hydroponics, nutrition and other food-related topics. Through the now-expanded school lunch program, the organization is able to offer job opportunities to individuals who have experienced barriers to employment such as intellectual disabilities and previous incarceration. Workers receive transportation passes, mentorship and paid training in food safety to prepare them for a future career in the culinary field.

Chada said she hopes to leverage the program as a catalyst for positive change in the food system and, in turn, create better health outcomes for Near West Side residents.

“Right now, we’re probably one of the unhealthiest corridors in the state of Wisconsin,” Chada said. “You come back to us in five years, we’re going to be one of the healthiest neighborhoods in the state of Wisconsin.”

The 12,000-square-foot kitchen is now producing 9,000 meals per day. That’s expected to increase to 12,000 by March and 18,000 come August. The first-floor space was previously a stable, car repair shop and literacy services office, and its renovation preserved several large skylights, which provide ample natural light — a rare feature in most commercial kitchen spaces.

On weekends and evenings when the kitchen is not in use, the space will serve as an incubator kitchen for small, BIPOC-owned food businesses, Chada said.

CFI plans to partner with Rev-Up MKE to connect with entrepreneurs who will be able to use the commercial kitchen — complete with state-of-the-art equipment — and participate in training sessions. Eventually, the businesses will be able to sell their products out of retail spaces at Concordia 27.

A second kitchen focusing on cooking demonstrations and community classes is in progress.

The remainder of the building, though still under construction, is slowly taking shape. In addition to its four tenants, Concordia 27 will feature six retail spaces that will be available for small businesses, as well as 18,000 square feet of shared community space. The flexible areas will be dispersed throughout the building and regularly open to the public for various uses.

The upper floors are being converted into 33 units of affordable housing, including a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and studio apartments — six of which will be ADA accessible. The completed units will blend modern amenities such as roll-in bathtubs with historic touches including French doors, original terrazzo floors and restored windows.

St. Arnold Bell said that the redevelopment project aims to keep residents at the forefront. “We are always thinking about how can we really make sure that we are connecting them, that we’re bringing people in and that we’re welcoming them into this transformative, transformational project,” she said.

Last May, Governor Tony Evers announced that the state would contribute $5 million from its American Rescue Plan Act allocation to back the project. The grant kickstarted work on Concordia 27, which has since received additional funding from both federal and local sources, including $2 million from Milwaukee County and additional private investments.

Fruition MKE submitted an application for its food dealers license in early February. Additional information about the cafe, coworking space and makers market is forthcoming.

Update: Milwaukee Public Schools was previously listed as a school lunch recipient 

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