A long-vacant site at the eastern end of the Menomonee Valley could soon house a sizable industrial building.

Briohn Building Corporation filed a zoning request with the city last week to construct a 179,500-square-foot building on the 9.3-acre site at 841 W. Canal St. The design-build firm would construct the building for Illinois-based developer Westminster Capital.

The proposal is described as a speculative project, where a tenant is not required to construct the building. Such developments have been uncommon in the city proper, where land is more scarce, but have proliferated on freeway corridors in recent years amidst a surge in warehouse demand. Briohn has constructed multiple spec buildings for Westminster in recent years.

The property, owned by We Energies according to city assessment records, has been vacant for approximately two decades. Located just east of the Interstate 43/94 High Rise Bridge, it previously was the site of a Milwaukee Tallow Company rendering plant known infamously for its smell.

Allen Edmonds considered building a new factory on the property in 2001, but beyond initial grants for site cleanup, that project never progressed. Former Allen Edmonds owner John Stollenwerk maintained ownership of the site for the next decade and a half.

Lakefront Brewery considered building a new brewery on the site in 2013, but ultimately canceled those plans. Stollenwork then sold to We Energies in 2014.

The site is technically two parcels: a 4.2-acre site addressed as 131 S. 7th St. and a 5.16-acre site addressed as 841 W. Canal St. Two baseball batting cages are about the only markers on the property.

The southern edge of the site is the South Menomonee Canal. To the west is We Energies’ Valley Power Plant and to the east are the Lone Star Industries cement silos, 6th Street Bridge and Harley-Davidson Museum. Across Canal Street to the north is a much smaller vacant lot. A Canadian Pacific rail line serving Lone Star separates the site from Canal Street.

The zoning change will require Common Council approval.

Weekly Recap

New Apartment Building Relies On Emerging Building Technology

It’s not immediately obvious, but a new apartment building rising in the Walker’s Point neighborhood leverages a building technology virtually unheard of in Milwaukee: insulated concrete forms.

But Waukesha-based KB Walker wants to change that and is working to get more area developers to implement the formwork system.

“The residents are the ultimate beneficiaries,” said vice president Matt Green during a November tour of the Taxco Apartments construction site, located on the 600 block of S. 5th St.

ICF buildings are intended to be more energy efficient by reducing heat transfer, stronger in the event of a disaster, better at absorbing sound, safer in a fire and more breathable through the elimination of common sources of mold than conventional concrete or wood.

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Bronzeville Estates Adds Housing, Commercial Space Near North Ave

Developer Melissa Allen is readying her mixed-use, $9.5 million Bronzeville Estates proposal for development.

The scattered-site project will bring an influx of affordable housing and new commercial space to the Bronzeville neighborhood along W. North Ave.

“There are an awful lot of good things going on in Bronzeville right now, and this is just another example,” said Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee assistant executive director Dave Misky to the authority’s board Thursday afternoon. Allen’s Maures Development Group is involved in a lot of them, including the scattered-site project, a home for the Bronzeville Center for the Arts, the 4th Street School redevelopment and the recently opened America’s Black Holocaust Museum.

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New Brewery Coming To Third Ward

An Illinois couple is planning to open a new brewery in the Historic Third Ward.

The Copper Turtle Brewery and Taverne will occupy the approximately 3,200-square-foot space at 330 E. Menomonee St.

It will be owned and operated by Ben and Amanda Rossi, but the couple’s daughter is behind the name and its environmentally-friendly focus.

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Third Ward Board Approves New Tower

The Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board gave final approval Wednesday to a plan to construct a 31-story apartment tower at the intersection of N. Water St. and E. St. Paul Ave.

The building, proposed by international development firm Hines Acquisitions, would replace a surface parking lot with a high-end apartment building. The number of units in the building matches the 0.79-acre site’s current address, 333 N. Water St.

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The Couture Starts Massive Concrete Pour

A key construction milestone was reached Wednesday on The Couture, a 44-story apartment tower under construction at 909 E. Michigan St.

A concrete pour was initiated to support the tower. A nearly continuous pour from two pumps will last approximately six hours, supplied by 78 truckloads of concrete from Riv/Crete.

A crew of more than a dozen workers from J.H. Findorff & Son are working to build the “raft” at the base of the building. With 176,200 pounds of rebar and 2.8 million pounds of concrete, the raft sits atop 116 steel piles that can each hold 400 tons. The raft and piles will support the tower, which will start to peak above the construction fence this summer.

Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Department of City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump and Interim Public Works Commissioner Karen Dettmer joined developers Rick Barrett and Tan Lo to watch the start of the pour.

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Will Museum Drop ‘Public’ From Name?

On Friday, the Milwaukee County Board called a special meeting for Tuesday March 15, rushing forward consideration of a $45 million funding proposal for the future Milwaukee Public Museum. Though, once built, the museum will likely no longer be called the Milwaukee Public Museum.

MPM Inc., the nonprofit that operates the public museum, officially let the county board know in December 2021 it wanted to rename the museum as the Wisconsin Museum of Nature and Culture or something similar. A report from the county’s Department of Administrative Services and MPM Inc. stated “the actual title of the future museum is undecided.”

The $240 million project has an estimated $190 million construction cost. Along with the proposed $45 million from the county, the state of Wisconsin has committed $40 million in funding to the project. These public funds will go toward construction and are also intended to catalyze a private capital campaign for the remaining project costs. MPM staff have repeatedly stated that without the county’s funding the project will fall apart.

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County Would Hike Property Taxes for Museum

The nonprofit that operates the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) received the first approval it needs from Milwaukee County to secure $45 million in public funding for its planned new $240 million museum.

The Milwaukee County Board’s Finance Committee and Parks, Energy and Environment Committee held a joint meeting to consider approving a proposal that would commit the county to borrowing $45 million to help pay for the new museum. Current plans would have construction begin in 2023 and the museum opened by 2026.

The new facility is needed to maintain the museum’s accreditation, as the existing building has deteriorated to the point where MPM has had to put out buckets to collect water leaking through the roof.

This plan would require the financially strapped county to both exceed its self imposed bonding limit and, very likely, increase property taxes. It received approval from the committees, though not unanimous approval, and still needs approval by the full board and the county executive’s signature.

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