Seven-Story Warehouse Partially Collapses
Century-old National Warehouse building in Harbor District will need to be demolished.
Partially collapsed building at 531 S. Water St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A large portion of a seven-story warehouse structure at 531 S. Water St. collapsed Monday and an emergency demolition is imminent.
The brick building is part of the National Warehouse Corp. complex, a series of structures used for office space and storage.
The collapse of the building occurred in two phases. The southern facade and a portion of the bottom three floors first fell; several hours later, the upper portion collapsed, bringing down large portions of the floors below.
The structure was vacant, and no one was believed to be in the building, according to the Milwaukee Fire Department. No injuries were reported, and individuals working in an attached structure were evacuated.
The collapsed structure’s exact date of construction isn’t immediately available in online records. Maps from 1894 and 1910 for the Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. show a structure with the same footprint on the site, labeled “malt house” for the Kraus and Merkel Malting Co. and later the American Malting Co. City assessment records place a 1925 date on the multi-building property. The structure is believed to be made of Cream City brick.
An emergency raze order was issued by the Department of Neighborhood Services after the first collapse.
A property manager was on-site Tuesday morning to meet with a prospective demolition contractor. As of this story’s publication, no raze permit had been submitted to the city.
On Tuesday morning, the Milwaukee Police Department had multiple officers closing a two-block section of S. Water Street with fencing planned.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the collapse.
In recent months, a piece of the metal sheathing on a connecting structure between the now-collapsed structure and a building to the east had been removed or fallen off, exposing severely slanted floors.
A small National Warehouse building to the west of the collapsed structure has long had a substantial amount of foliage growing out of what remains of the structure.
A fire occurred in 2024 in the “middle building” of the four-building parcel at 531 S. Water St., according to DNS online records, and the condition was listed as abated after a follow-up inspection. Online records do not suggest any complaints or structural code violations in recent years.
City records indicate the Water Street property includes structures totaling 136,254 square feet.
A property just to the west, at 408 E. Bruce St., also includes multiple structures owned by the National Warehouse Corp. Those buildings total 98,072 square feet.
An order was issued on Monday requiring a facade inspection of all structures on the two properties.
The first collapse occurred around noon Monday.
CBS 58, by chance, captured the second collapse on camera when it occurred around 7 p.m.
Grafton-based attorney Robert L. Feind, Jr. is the registered agent for National Warehouse. He did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The area is undergoing substantial change, with redevelopment of multiple properties to the north planned or underway.
The Milwaukee Health Department is monitoring air quality in the area but recommends occupants of nearby properties consider using an air purifier to reduce the impact of dust and debris.
Photos
Building Complex
National Warehouse Corp. Building Complex in April 2025. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff.
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