Large Pabst Apartment Complex Sold
Investor with local ties buys 118-unit complex at a premium over assessed value.
Malt House (Building 25) at The Brewery. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
One of the largest buildings in the former Pabst Brewing Company complex has a new owner.
The Malt House apartment complex was acquired by a joint venture of Midloch Partners and The Avenue-developer Hempel Cos.
The 118-unit development was sold for $19.2 million. It is located in The Brewery District at the northwestern edge of Downtown, between Interstate 43 and the Deer District.
“The Malt House is a one-of-a-kind property in a market we know well and love. We’ll be making some additional upgrades to the property, including common area improvements and some unit upgrades, and curing deferred maintenance,” said Midloch CEO Andy Sinclair in a statement. “With quality local management and the already robust amenity set, we expect The Malt House to command attractive lease rates and perform well over time as we realize its full potential.”
The Malt House buildings date back as far back as 1882 and contain a combined 158,500 square feet of space. Known as Building 24 and Building 25 in Pabst records, they were part of the multi-block complex abandoned when the company abruptly closed the brewery in 1997.
Zilber Ltd. led an award-winning, mixed-use redevelopment of the area, now known as The Brewery District.
The Malt House complex can be easily identified by what’s connected to it: the large neon Pabst sign with its seven-foot-tall letters. As a result of rising maintenance costs, the future of the sign is currently being debated by the Historic Preservation Commission.
The Malt House development took many years to complete, at one point raising the ire of neighbors who were frustrated with the associated partial road closures. It was initially led by Whitestone Realty Capital, which first publicly revealed its plans in 2014. Construction began in 2016, but wasn’t completed until 2021. By the time things were complete, WDG Construction had taken over as the general contractor and Virginia-based attorney Robert Lubin was listed as the developer. Corporate records for property owner Milwaukee Pabst Holdings LLC currently point to the Michigan home of a Whitestone executive.
The property is currently assessed for $13.6 million.
Midloch reports already owning the 896-space Brewery Parking Structure, where Malt House and other Brewery District tenants park. Interstate Parking, which has close ties to Hempel, operates the structure.
Hempel CEO Josh Krsnak is a principal with Midloch. The company has offices in Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Hempel has acquired several properties attached to and surrounding The Avenue.
Weidner Investment Services, unaffiliated with Midloch, owns three other residential buildings in The Brewery District: Vigor, Vim and Vim + Vigor Lofts.
Photos
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