City Subsidy Would Boost Conversion of Former MPS School To Apartments
Developers hope to create 48 units of housing on three-acre property.
Carleton School, 4116 W. Silver Spring Dr. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Two city-controlled public financing sources would be used to advance the redevelopment of a long-closed Milwaukee Public Schools building into affordable housing.
First publicly revealed in 2019, the former Carleton Elementary School, 4116 W. Silver Spring Dr., would be redeveloped into 48 units of affordable housing as part of a $21.2 million project.
On Thursday, the board of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM) endorsed a tax incremental financing (TIF) subsidy and a loan to close a financing gap in the project’s financing stack.
The TIF subsidy would take the form of a developer-financed district, effectively a property tax rebate. Over a period of no more than 25 years, the city would provide up to $970,000 plus 6.55% interest. The development team would be receive the subsidy on an annual basis based on the amount of incremental property tax revenue generated by the development. The newly-created TIF district, the city’s 125th, would only include the 3.6-acre school property.
A second subsidy, a $1.25 million low-interest loan, would be used for environmental cleanup. It would come from RACM’s Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund, which has funded 22 projects and been awarded $17.4 million in federal funding.
The primary funding source for the development is low-income housing tax credits awarded by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA). The tax credits require specific units to be set aside at below-market rates targeted at no more than 30% of a qualifying household’s income.
The three-story school would be converted into 30 apartments. Two townhome structures, with 18 total units, would be constructed on the parking lot at the rear of the full-block site. The school itself has been vacant since June 2009.
Developers Todd Hutchison, of Wisconsin Redevelopment, and Matthew D. Tadisch, CEO of Selzer-Ornst Construction Company and partner at Wisconsin Redevelopment, are the lead developers on the project. AndersonWebb partners Tina Anderson and Sherry Terrell-Webb, who were initially presented as the lead developers, remain affiliated with the development.
The development team hopes to complete the project by late 2026.
“We have a long history of working with other developers to get projects done,” said Hutchison. He said he has completed 25 tax credit projects. His city of Milwaukee project includes the Welford Sanders Lofts and the Silver City Townhomes.
The Art Deco-style school building was originally constructed in 1917 and expanded several times. The cornice of the front entryway gives a 1940 date, while a side door includes an engraving hinting at why it doesn’t look like the other MPS schools of the era. It was built as a school in the Town of Granville, later incorporated into the City of Milwaukee in 1948.
RACM senior environmental project manager said that, after the school became part of MPS, several houses to the north were acquired to create a playfield. That field was paved in the 2000s and much of the environmental cleanup cost is now related to ensuring there is no contaminated soil under the future townhomes. “We’re not necessarily sure if those materials have been removed, or what was brought in to level the site,” said Kress. Additional cleanup costs include lead paint and asbestos abatement within the school structure.
The final project would be known as Historic Patterson Place to honor Jack S. Patterson. He was a bus driver who, the partners previously stated, was one of a handful of African Americans after World War II to build a home in the area, despite facing discrimination. According to the Milwaukee County Transit System, Patterson was the first African American driver hired by its predecessor, which was then a private company.
TEAM Management is the likely property manager said Hutchison.
AndersonWebb won a 2018 request for proposals to purchase and redevelop the property. The development team is required to pay $220,000 for the property. A zoning change to enable the development was approved in 2022. The city granted the development team an extension on its purchase option in late 2024.
The development will be required to comply with the city’s Residents Preference Program, which requires 40% of the project’s work hours to be completed by unemployed or underemployed city residents, and its contracting requirements. By value, 25% of the project’s construction costs and 18% of its design and development costs must go to certified Small Business Enterprises.
The development team is working with Continuum Architects + Planners on the design. Selzer-Ornst will serve as the general contractor.
The Milwaukee Common Council must still approve the TIF district’s creation. The RACM board unanimously approved both funding allocations.
Charter school operator Rocketship Education secured approval to purchase the school in 2016, but later canceled its plans due to the renovation costs.
Additional funding sources for the housing development include historic preservation tax credits, a first mortgage from WHEDA and a green infrastructure grant from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Cinnaire Solutions would sell the tax credits for the development team.
2022 Photos
Site Plan
2022 Carleton School site plan. Image released by DCD.
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Wow, this is so close to McGovern Park and the McGovern Senior Center/Hub. Is it worthwhile to consider any addition of a senior center facility on the first floor mixed use with affordable senior housing on upper floors, as a City/County/Private developer collaborative? Or perhaps other unoccupied Milwaukee Public Schools that are being converted to apartments? If the County can remove the cost of physical plant maintenance and place it into the vender (Serving Older Adults/SOA) providing older adult services and programming….