Vacant Building Would Become Gaming Center

1606 W. Walnut St. in December 2023. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Giving proof to the Jane Jacobs adage that “new ideas must use old buildings,” a 138-year-old building just northwest of Downtown could soon house a modern gaming hub.

Husband-and-wife team Nathan and Jenean Shorter plan to purchase and renovate the city-owned, vacant building at 1606 W. Walnut St.

The property would be redeveloped for PrimeTime Gaming, a gaming club and cafe. The city acquired the two-story building via property tax foreclosure in 2021.

“The buyers plan to bring an innovative solution to the growing population of casual and competitive video gaming,” said Department of City Development (DCD) real estate specialist Dwayne Edwards in presenting the proposal to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee Thursday afternoon.

Nathan said the couple has three goals: hosting monthly tournaments, driving awareness of and teaching an e-sports curriculum to Milwaukee youth and serving great food.

Working with architecture firm HGA, the couple has designed a space that includes an eight-station “bullpen” and a 12-station tournament stage. Esports gaming outfitter E-Blue was selected to build out the space, according to a DCD property report.

“The business will create an environment for both casual and competitive gamers, offering pay-to-play transactions on high-powered PCs, as well as gaming consoles such as Xbox, Switch and Playstation. The gaming center will offer frequent events to attract competitive gamers or those seeking a platform to experience an invigorating tournament for the first time,” says a DCD report.

Nathan currently works as a Microsoft 365 Cloud Administrator for Potawatomi  Business Development Corporation. He said he has 15 years of information technology experience. Jenean works as a real estate agent for Acts Housing.

Area Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II said the property drew substantial interest when the city listed it for sale in 2022. “They had the best presentation and the best topic,” said the alderman.

The Shorters are to pay $40,000 for the property and invest an estimated $225,000 in renovating the property. Edwards said he expected the renovation to exceed that amount given landscaping plans for the exterior.

The 2,436-square-foot commercial building sits on a 7,803-square-foot corner lot but is set back substantially from N. 16th St. A garage is included on the alley. W. Walnut Street was recently completely rebuilt in front of the place, with a protected bike lane, large sidewalk and substantial terrace replacing a traffic lane.

LISC Milwaukee‘s Brew City Match program is expected to provide support, said Nathan.

“Glad Milwaukee is finally getting one of these. It’s well beyond time,” said Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, the council’s resident social gaming expert.

Nathan said unlike Battlebox Studios, a popular store and lounge on W. Lisbon Avenue, PrimeTime would function more like a club with an intent to compete against clubs in other cities. Several other esports groups exist in the city, including the Milwaukee Bucks’ “Bucks Gaming” arm and several college and high school teams. The Milwaukee Esports Alliance was formed to attempt to draw awareness to the rapidly-growing industry and promote Wisconsin’s role in it.

“Congratulations. This sounds like a very interesting business you are planning on operating,” said committee chair Ald. Michael Murphy.

The building has played host to a number of tenants according to city directories and recent permitting records. It was home to multiple taverns, a baker, a meat store, Jim Dandy’s Pool Hall and Portia’s Steak House. It was occupied by A&V Financial approximately 12 years ago.

The committee unanimously endorsed the sale. The full council must still review the land sale at its March 19 meeting.

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Related Legislation: File 231712