Coggs Center Will Become Affordable Apartments

Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center, 1220 W. Vliet St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County is moving from bulldozers to bedrooms on its plans for the future of the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center, 1220 W. Vliet St.

A pending city land sale proposal says the county would reuse the former Schuster’s department store as affordable housing. The county, which is building a new home for its Department of Health and Human Services behind the building, previously said it would demolish the structure and use the space for parking.

Gorman & Company, which has redeveloped several former schools and other historic buildings, would serve as the developer. It recently redeveloped the former Edison Middle School into affordable senior housing.

County Executive David Crowley confirmed the plans Wednesday morning in a press release. “Gorman & Company will pursue a mixed-use redevelopment of the property that will create an estimated 65 affordable housing units, as well as commercial space for Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Services and a small cafe,” said the county executive.

Milwaukee County issued a request for information (RFI) in 2023 to solicit ideas for reusing the 212,000-square-foot structure. Wednesday’s announcement is the first release of the results of the RFI.

The city would sell two nearby vacant lots for use as parking. The Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee is to consider that proposal at its June 25 meeting.

Also pending is a local historic designation for the three-story structure. Milwaukee County did not appear at a June 3 Historic Preservation Commission meeting and previously told Urban Milwaukee it supports the designation. The commission unanimously endorsed the designation, which will be reviewed by the zoning committee on June 25. East Side resident Stephen Thiel nominated the structure for historic protection.

The structure was built in 1910 to Brust & Philipp‘s designs and expanded in 1923.

The building is currently separated from Downtown by Interstate 43, but, prior to the freeway’s construction, Vliet Street was one of the city’s premier shopping streets and an extension of the city’s economic core.

Schuster’s shuttered the store in 1961 and the rest of the Milwaukee-based chain was acquired by Gimbel’s in 1963.

Milwaukee County acquired the building in 1963 and reconfigured it as a welfare office. It was renamed in 2003 for Marcia P. Coggs, the first African American woman elected to the Wisconsin State Legislature.

A 2021 county administration report concluded that the county should sell the Coggs Center, as it was becoming a financial liability due to deferred maintenance and the looming departure of its co-tenant, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The state agency, which provides access to FoodShare and BadgerCare benefits, relocated in 2022 to leased space several miles northwest.

According to a Wisconsin Historical Society webpage, the property is not listed on either the state or national register of historic places. Register listing does not afford any historic protection, unlike the local designation, but it does make historically-sensitive alterations and renovations eligible for historic preservation tax credits.

A groundbreaking for the replacement structure for the county health and human services department was held in October. The $42 million building, being constructed atop a former Schuster’s parking lot, will be substantially smaller at 60,000 square feet.

In the surrounding King Park neighborhood, a substantial number of new, affordable homes are being constructed by Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.

Gorman has traditionally relied on the use of state-awarded, federal low-income housing tax credits to finance its affordable housing developments. The credits provide up-front equity in exchange for leasing specific units at below-market rates targeted at 30% of a qualifying household’s income.

Photos

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