Condo Tower Would Provide Millions For City Services

Zenith Rendering. Rendering courtesy of New Land Enterprises.

Zenith, a proposed 25-story, 226-unit condominium tower, would add something Downtown has effectively gone without for almost two decades: newly constructed housing designed for owner-occupants.

It could also provide a substantial financial boost for the entire city.

The combined initial sales prices of the units are expected to total between $180 million and $190 million, said Tim Gokhman, managing director of developer New Land Enterprises, during an event unveiling the tower Monday evening.

“That makes it the single most important residential project in the state,” he said.

At the city’s current property tax rate of $22.42 per $1,000 of assessed value, a $190 million development could generate approximately $4.26 million in annual property tax revenue. The funding would be divided among the city, Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee County, Milwaukee Area Technical College and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

The city’s share would be approximately $1.45 million annually, while MPS would receive approximately $1.84 million.

“This development will further put Milwaukee on the map,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “I am truly excited about what the possibilities are, what this means for Downtown, what this means for Milwaukee, what this means for Wisconsin. This is truly, truly the zenith.”

New Land intends to develop the tower at 711 E. Kilbourn Ave., a vacant lot across the street from its record-setting Ascent apartment tower. The 25-story Ascent is the world’s tallest hybrid mass-timber building. Monday’s event was held in its top-floor amenity space.

Zenith would be Milwaukee’s first new condominium high-rise since the urban condo boom came to an abrupt halt during the Great Recession. While Downtown has gained thousands of rental units since then—including two apartment towers exceeding 30 stories that were completed in 2024—the supply of newly constructed housing for sale has remained effectively frozen.

New Land, one of the developers that led the city’s earlier condominium boom, believes the market is finally ready to shift.

“Over the last decade, New Land Enterprises has built over 1,200 apartments,” said Gokhman, describing the growth of the city’s urban housing market. “All of this development, all of this energy confirms that we are indeed a world-class city. But one question remained, asked over and over for the past few years: ‘When will we have a project so that people can own a piece of that energy in a building built for that purpose?’ Zenith is our answer.”

The company expects one-bedroom units to sell for between $458,000 and $655,000. Two-bedroom units would range from $772,000 to $1.2 million. Penthouses, ranging from 1,997 to 3,670 square feet, would be priced between $1.8 million and $3 million.

Gokhman, in an interview before the event, described Zenith as a “signature condo tower” that would provide luxury amenities and modern building systems while offering units at prices below those found in some of Milwaukee’s existing lakefront condo towers.

The amenity package would include an indoor-outdoor swimming pool atop the building’s parking podium, a sauna, an outdoor terrace with fire pits, a rooftop deck, a pet spa, a golf simulator and a two-story fitness center. Building staff would be on site around the clock.

Gokhman, on Monday evening, said the amenities would “truly make you question if you should hold onto that 4% mortgage.”

New Land hopes to presell half of the tower’s units before starting construction in 2027. Falk Ruvin Gallagher is leading sales, and Korb Architecture is designing the building. Stevens Construction was announced as the general contractor at the event.

Unlike Ascent, Zenith would use concrete construction. The building is being designed without exposed structural beams, a feature intended to provide cleaner ceilings and more attractive interiors.

“You have to be very intentional with your floor plan design,” Gokhman said previously of achieving the beamless design, which he said is increasingly sought by luxury buyers.

The project will require a zoning change, but area Alderman Robert Bauman has promised to champion it before the Common Council.

“I’m sure this will be a tremendous development and a huge tax-base increase in the city,” said Bauman. “And when dealing with New Land Enterprises, my personal objective is to get out of the way and to make sure their expertise, their architects, their designers can move forward as quickly, as judiciously as possible and the city makes the process as seamless as it can possibly be.”

He said they have made a tremendous impact on Downtown. “Certainly in modern times, no one has had a greater impact on the built environment,” said Bauman of New Land’s impact.

New Land co-founders Boris Gokhman and Walter Shuk have eyed the Kilbourn Avenue property for development for years. When the partners initially pursued the parcel, they learned that frequent financial backer Jim Weichmann was competing to acquire it. Rather than bidding against one another, the parties partnered to purchase the site.

They held the property through the Great Recession and the collapse of a previous proposal known as The Bookends. That plan, approved in 2008, called for a 19-story apartment building spanning the Zenith site and a neighboring parcel, 822 N. Van Buren St.

Bauman praised New Land for having the foresight to purchase the property outright rather than controlling it through a temporary purchase option.

Boris Gokhman said the partners received another unexpected opportunity only two months after buying the site when they learned that Eduardo’s restaurant across the street was closing. They acquired that property as well and ultimately redeveloped it with Ascent.

The vacant Zenith site has been considered for several interim uses in the years since The Bookends fell apart. New Land pursued a small food truck park in 2022, but the proposal did not advance. A zoning modification approved in 2025 allows Ascent residents to use a portion of the property for gardens.

New Land is now betting that rising housing prices and demand from buyers who want to live Downtown—but do not want to rent—will finally allow the long-vacant site to support a tower.

No city subsidy is proposed for the development.

Renderings

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2022 Site Photos

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