Construction Underway on Second Phase of Wellness Commons

Construction of the second phase of the Innovations and Wellness Commons. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Construction is underway on the second phase of Walnut Way‘s Innovations and Wellness Commons in Lindsay Heights.

The $3.3 million project builds on the first phase that centered around rehabbing two connected buildings into a variety of office and retail spaces.

The second phase will add a new, two-story building on a vacant lot immediately east of the first phase. Confirmed tenants include the Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers, Living Well by Marrika, Perseverance Health and Wellness, Universal Minds and Perspectives and Saving Ourselves.

General contracting on the new project is being led by JCP Construction. Design on both phases was led by Mayer-Helminiak Architects. Work continued with a small crew Thursday when Urban Milwaukee visited the site.

The redeveloped buildings at 1615 W. North Ave. that form the first phase are home to the Fondy Food Center‘s offices and a commercial kitchen for Milwaukee Center for Independence. Shindig Coffee (formerly The Juice Kitchen) operated out of a storefront space since the first phase opened in 2015, but the business opened a bigger cafe in the Sherman Phoenix marketplace and closed the North Ave space late last year. The former Shindig retail storefront is available for lease.

Walnut Way Conservation Corp., led by Executive Director Antonio Butts, has its offices in a converted house just south of the first phase.

The project, pre-pandemic, had an estimated completion date of July 2020.

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