Tavern planned for long-vacant space near proposed Bucks arena
The long-vacant first floor of a historic building near the proposed Milwaukee Bucks arena would be renovated for a new tavern under plans filed with the city. Wisconsin Cheese Mart operator Ken McNulty owns the three-story building at 1109-1111 N. Old World 3rd St. and said Thursday he plans to begin work within the next few weeks on its renovations. McNulty hopes to have the 2,000-square-foot tavern open by February. McNulty said he decided to redevelop the building’s first floor after the Bucks’ owners announced plans in April for the new arena, to be built north of the BMO Harris Bradley Center, and an open-air entertainment center, including taverns and restaurants, at what is now the site of a parking structure at N. 4th St. and W. Highland Ave. The building also has an apartment on each of its two upper floors, which will remain, said McNulty, who has owned the Wisconsin Cheese Mart at 215 W. Highland Ave. for 12 years. McNulty’s plans to improve the building’s exterior will be reviewed by the city Historic Preservation Commission at its Monday meeting. The changes need commission approval. He plans to replace the storefront with folding doors that will allow the front of the building to be open during warm weather, add new side entry doors, and install a new awning, according to the proposal. The commission also will review proposed changes to a vacant two-story building at 1023 N. Old World 3rd St. that will be the future home of Evolution Gastro Pong, now at 223 E. Chicago St., and a new restaurant. Evolution’s operator, Susanne Mayer, wants to change that building’s storefront to better reflect the street’s historic character and replace the rooftop patio with a “conservatory-style” glass structure, according to the plans. That building was formerly occupied by the Irish Rec Room bar.
Jun 4th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Christine Specht succeeds father as CEO of Cousins Subs
Jun 3rd, 2015 by Dave Reid
Freddie’s Deli food truck serves up meats, unifies family
Jun 3rd, 2015 by Dave Reid
The Pub Club launches new streetside deck
Jun 2nd, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
SpringHill Suites entering downtown hotel market
SpringHill Suites will be the brand of the new hotel being developed near downtown Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Center convention facility. Plans were disclosed in June 2014 to convert the six-story Commerce Building, 744 N. 4th St., into a hotel. In December, JSWD Commerce LLC, led by hotel developers Mark Flaherty and Ed Carow, bought the underused office building for $4.5 million. Flaherty and Carow, who operate Jackson Street Holdings LLC, have declined to provide additional details. But their firm’s website now shows plans to open in 2016 a 150-room SpringHill Suites, with underground parking and 2,000 square feet of meeting space. SpringHill Suites is a Marriott brand, and currently has no locations in the Milwaukee area. The 97-year-old Commerce Building is tied to the city’s sky walk system, which also links to the Wisconsin Center. The $17 million project is being partly financed through state and federal historic preservation tax credits.
May 27th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Developer follows downtown growth west
Since late 2014, workers have been converting a long-vacant office building near downtown Milwaukee’s Shops of Grand Avenue into just over 200 high-end apartments. But that $30.6 million project has operated in stealth mode, with sparse news media coverage based solely on information from building permits and other public documents. Now, Chicago developer John Mangel is talking about why he and his partners are making a major investment in a building that has been empty since 2006. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mangel said the remodeling of the 11-story building at 401 W. Michigan St. into The Buckler apartments is based on a belief that demand for upscale units is spilling into downtown’s west side, which has long lagged the larger downtown area’s development pace. “I think downtown Milwaukee has phenomenal potential and history,” Mangel said. The downtown area’s apartment market enjoys a high occupancy rate, he said. And new development sites in the Historic Third Ward, downtown’s east side and the area along the Milwaukee River running north of downtown are largely taken, Mangel said. So the next big development push is downtown, west of the Milwaukee River, he said. The Buckler’s location is within short walks of major employers, the Amtrak station and the proposed future Milwaukee Bucks arena, said Mangel and his partner, Peter Jensen. It also is within walking distance of Marquette University, which is expanding eastward with a planned new athletic performance research center and other projects. “There’s a lot going on around here,” Jensen said. Mangel and Jensen own Phoenix Development Partners, which is developing The Buckler in a joint venture with Chicago-based CA Ventures LLC. A Phoenix affiliate, DJ Acquisitions LLC, in April 2014 received a special-use permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals for the apartment conversion project. In November, the city started issuing building permits for the project. The 249,000-square-foot building is formerly home to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin. It is being converted into 207 apartments, ranging from efficiencies to two-story units with private patios. The first apartments will be available by August, Mangel said. The monthly rents will range from $750 to over $3,000 for units ranging from 500 square feet to 1,650 square feet. That variety of rents and unit sizes are designed to appeal to a diverse group, Mangel said, including Marquette students, young professionals and empty nesters. The Buckler’s features will include a basketball court, fitness center, conference room, party room and courtyard with fire pits. It will have both underground and surface lot parking. The project’s financing includes a loan from PNC Bank, Mangel said. Phoenix Development’s other projects include Infinite Chicago, a new student apartment building in Chicago’s South Loop, and a 146-room Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel and four Bartolotta restaurantsunder construction at The Mayfair Collection, a Wauwatosa mixed-use development at Highway 45 and W. Burleigh St. The Buckler will be the largest in a series of new apartment developments near W. Wisconsin Ave. Those buildings will bring several […]
May 23rd, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
