Big Blue Building Joins Downtown Office-To-Housing Boom
310W would follow 100 East and 633 W. Wisconsin with a 220-unit conversion.
310 W. Wisconsin Ave. Photo courtesy of Colliers International.
A $73.6 million plan to partially convert the third-largest multi-tenant office building in the state into housing received its first city approval.
The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM) board unanimously approved a proposed $6.44 million tax incremental financing subsidy for the project on Aug. 20. The proposal still requires Common Council approval.
New York-based Time Equities plans to convert the east tower of 310W, located at 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., into 220 apartments while retaining the west tower as office space.
The distinctive blue glass building is effectively two towers joined by a central 14-story atrium. The west tower, which would remain offices, is currently about 45% occupied.
The residential portion would include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Residents also would be able to lease up to 260 spaces in the building’s attached 600-space parking structure separately.
The Kubala Washatko Architects is leading the project’s design. JLL will manage the apartments. Law firm Godfrey & Kahn is working on the development. A general contractor has not yet been selected.
The city subsidy would be provided through a newly created, developer-financed tax incremental financing (TIF) district. Time Equities would front the project costs and be repaid up to $6.44 million, plus 7.05% interest, from the additional property tax revenue generated by the redevelopment. The repayment period could extend for as long as 18 years. The developer-financed district functions as an effective property tax rebate, placing the risk on the developer.
The financing package is relatively straightforward for a large downtown redevelopment. It consists of a first mortgage, developer equity and the city’s TIF subsidy.
“A lot easier for me to make decisions when there are only three financing sources,” said RACM Commissioner Montavius Jones during the Aug. 20 meeting.
Jones contrasted the plan with the conversion of the 100 East office tower, another major downtown office-to-housing project on Wisconsin Avenue. That redevelopment involved a more complicated financing stack that included a federal loan guarantee and historic preservation tax credits.
The 310W project was negotiated under the office-to-housing conversion guidelines the Department of City Development unveiled in April 2025.
Those guidelines give the city substantially more flexibility than its standard workforce housing framework, as officials attempt to address two related problems: persistently vacant downtown office buildings and the potential erosion of the city’s property tax base.
DCD’s office-conversion guidelines prioritize large buildings with substantial vacancies, properties at risk of disinvestment, projects that increase housing options and buildings near public transit. Unlike the city’s workforce housing guidelines, the office-conversion framework does not prescribe a fixed affordability formula. It is focused on preserving the city’s tax base.
The 310W property is currently assessed for $22.7 million. It peaked at $29.4 million in 2010.
In exchange for the city assistance, 50 of the 220 apartments would be offered at restricted rents for the duration of the subsidy period. The agreement also includes cost-savings and clawback provisions.
Twenty-four units would be reserved for households earning no more than 70% of the Milwaukee area median income, 13 would be restricted at 80% and another 13 at 90% of the area median income.
All 50 restricted units would be studios or one-bedroom apartments.
Time Equities acquired the 578,000-square-foot building in 2017 as part of a $30 million acquisition and renovation strategy intended to reposition it as a more competitive office property.
Time Equities renovated common areas and added amenities after acquiring the property, but the improvements debuted shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically weakened demand for office space.
Constructed in 1983 as Henry S. Reuss Federal Plaza, the building’s blue color was initially controversial but soon won acceptance. It was originally occupied by several federal agencies, but many eventually left after federal security standards changed following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
RACM chair Monique Charlier said she worked on the first floor while in high school, when the complex was still filled with federal tenants.
“I like the project,” Charlier said, expressing support for the housing deal.
The proposed conversion emerged after several years of pursuing alternatives for the underused east tower.
The project is one of several major office-to-housing conversions underway or proposed along Wisconsin Avenue.
Construction is underway to convert the 35-story 100 East office tower into 350 apartments. That project was the first to advance under the city’s new office-conversion TIF strategy.
J. Jeffers & Co. is also pursuing a partial conversion of the 20-story office building at 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., with plans for 228 apartments.
2019 Building Photos
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