MILWAUKEE | Development News

[bucksfan15]

It's been a slow week so here's a story from the booming Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa...

Froedtert plans four-floor expansion on top of Center for Advanced Care

Froedtert Hospital is planning a four-floor expansion on top of its 12-story, 613,000-square-foot Center for Advanced Care, which opened in October 2015, at the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa.

The expansion, which would take two years to complete, is expected to cost $43 million and would be financed through a bond issue, according to Froedtert spokesperson Nalissa Wienke.

The four floors would add about 165,000 square feet of space. Project plans are being reviewed by the Wauwatosa Design Review Board. If approved, Wienke said construction would begin this spring.

Slight correction to the article. The current building is 8 stories so the 4-story expansion to the rapidly growing campus would bring the total height to 12 stories.

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Froedtert plans four-floor expansion on top of Center for Advanced Care

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Prime Historic Third Ward site on Milwaukee River sold to local developers for hotel, other uses

The $75 million to $90 million building would likely have 20 to 30 stories under conceptual plans, said Tony Janowiec, one of the property's new owners.

The tower would be developed at the southwest corner of N. Water St. and E. St. Paul Ave., which is now a parking lot.

The hotel would have 125 to 145 rooms, Janowiec said Friday.

Jackson Street Holdings LLC, which is building the Westin Hotel, 550 N. Van Buren St., and has built three other downtown hotels, would develop the Third Ward hotel.

No renderings yet but seems Milwaukee has another 20-30 story tower proposal. This one in the Third Ward. There is going to be towers going up all over downtown.

[bucksfan15]

Potawatomi planning second hotel tower in Menomonee Valley

The Forest County Potawatomi Community is planning to break ground this year on a second hotel tower at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in the Menomonee Valley in Milwaukee, according to several sources familiar with the project.

The 16-story, 150- to 200-room tower will feature more suites than the current 19-story, 381-room hotel, which opened in front of the casino at 1721 W. Canal St. in August 2014, according to sources.

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Bucks pick developer for apartments near arena

The apartments will be located along the eastern side of North Sixth Street between West Juneau Avenue and West McKinley Avenue, on the west side of the parking structure. Construction is expected to begin in fall when the parking structure is complete.

Also, a little birdie (fairly high up little birdie) told me they are in the process of luring a company that would bring a HQ with 900-1000 jobs to the arena district. Take that for what it's worth but thought I would share.

[mbradleyc]

I hope you're right. I won't put anything past these guys now. They deliver.

[bucksfan15]

Looks like barricades have been delivered to the site for the North End's final phase.

[pablosan]

Nice to see all of this development going on!!

[bucksfan15]

Almost forgot, barricades and fencing just went up around the site of Hamme's HQ. Looks like that project is in full swing also. I'll try and get some photos this weekend.

[bucksfan15]

Originally Posted by pablosan

Nice to see all of this development going on!!

Definitely. Milwaukee is on fire right now and looks like another handful of large projects are about to take off. A few more towers are in the works with the Couture, Portfolio, Potawatomi, and BMO Financial Center. All 4 seem like a go to break ground relatively soon. 777 is already on the 8th (last) floor of the parking structure so the tower portion should be rising in the next couple weeks. Needless to say, the skyline should look drastically different in about a year.

Also...

Milwaukee streetcar construction begins in April

Tracks should be delivered in March. Blue Line construction begins in April then it's full speed ahead.

Additionally, quite a few other notable projects (all towers) seem as if they could break ground this year like Edison Place, Masionic Building, St. Johns and 234 Water. I'm sure I'm missing things and I haven't even touched on the infill projects yet. With so much going on, it's getting really hard to keep track of what is being built/proposed in Milwaukee. Stay tuned, could be a fun year.

[bucksfan15]

Since this week has been a bit slow, here is some news from a HUGE mixed-use development from Milwaukee's premiere suburb, Wauwatosa....

Mayfair Collection Growth Continues: Work on luxury apartments at the Mayfair Collection now underway

Construction on the apartments has begun and was able to get underway due to a recent approval of permits for the footing and foundation, said Paulette Enders, development director for the city of Wauwatosa. The housing is located in the northeast quadrant of the district.

This phase of the project includes an additional 50,000 square feet of ground floor retail as part of a mixed-use component with more than 1,000 luxury residences being constructed by Fiduciary Real Estate Development. Construction on this phase will take place over the next two to four years.

A Hilton Homewood Suites, a 140-room hotel, saw its construction delayed for several months but Blum said it's back underway and slated to be completed by late August.

As you can see, the first 250 of 1,000 planned apartments is underway. Wauwatosa is booming right now. Perfect compliment to the construction boom that is happening in Milwaukee. Soon (hopefully), these 2 cities, the largest employment centers in the metro area, will be connected via BRT.

[bucksfan15]

Couture high-rise construction start set for late fall after sewer line is relocated

The planned construction start on The Couture apartment high-rise will likely occur in late fall after completion of site preparation work, including the relocation of a sewer line.

Also, the 44-story building's newly revised plans now call for a few more apartments.

I'm starting to lose faith in this project. Even with POP out of the way, Barrett can't seem to get this one out of the ground. I'll believe it when I see cranes in the air.

[bucksfan15]

If you blinked last week, here’s all the new sh*t they’re building in Milwaukee

Weekly Rundown...

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Looks like whatever project is planned behind Rhythm is about to get going. Heavy equipment on site and it looks like they are about to start demolishing the last remaining house on site.

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Second Lakefront Tower Coming?

Sources confirm that Barrett-Lo is actively planning the second tower in partnership with tower architect Rinka Chung Architecture. What remains unclear is the second tower’s use and height. While the apartment market might not stay hot long enough to continue to absorb hundreds of new units a year, the demand for hotel rooms Downtown remains strong as evidenced by the numerous proposals for new hotels. The Couture was originally proposed to include a 180-room hotel, but that was portion of the proposal was ultimately dropped in favor of more apartments.

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Extraordinary building boom is reshaping Milwaukee's skyline

The bevy of construction cranes hovering over downtown Milwaukee reflect an extraordinary commercial real estate boom that is reshaping the city's skyline and transforming the ways its people live, work and play.

Simply put, we are witnessing the remaking of downtown Milwaukee.

Two large office buildings overlooking Lake Michigan. A pair of apartment towers, part of an ongoing boom in higher-end rental housing. An arena for the Milwaukee Bucks and other events with a futuristic design that — love it or hate it — is architecturally light years away from the building it's replacing.

The city's downtown is seeing a historic surge in commercial development, with more than $1.4 billion in projects underway.

Great article with a nice rundown of the major projects happening in and around downtown. Lots more to look forward to this year!!

[bucksfan15]

Looks like Irgen's may try and stop the second Couture tower from happening. Personally, I'm getting kind of annoyed by private developments trying to dictate or block other private developments. Goll Mansion Tower was blocked by its neighbors, Wells Tower was blocked by its neighbors, and now it seems as if Irgens is trying to do the same.

City Plan Members Love Couture
Commissioners laud the project, but possible second tower raises concerns.

Before the commissioners were able to approve the project, developer Mark Irgens, who led the development of the adjacent 833 East office building, noted that his firm has concerns about the building’s design and would like to have further meetings with the project team. After raising the issue of a failure to properly notice nearby property owners on the zoning change and noting that his firm wasn’t waving their right to legal action over that fact, Irgens stated that “big picture we are generally supportive of a single Couture tower and the streetcar.” In response to a question from Gould, Irgens raised concerns over the proposed building’s podium and how it works with his firm’s 18-story office tower. Irgens concluded his remarks noting, “we think it’s a great thing for Milwaukee, but we have a privately financed project and we have a number of great tenants in the building and I am obligated to protect everybody’s interests.” Rinka responded that “this actually comes as a bit of a surprise, but we’re willing to work through any issues or concerns.” The architect noted that his firm has exchanged three-dimensional models of the project with Irgens’ architect Kahler Slater and offered to continue to work with the office developer.

If they didn't want their views blocked, they should have built taller or closer to the lake. Suck it up buttercup.

[bucksfan15]

Update on a Walker's Point infill project....

70 New Apartments for Fifth Ward
"The Quin," a 5-story, 70-unit apartment complex with retail in booming Walker's Point.

Richardson notes the firm was “drawn to site by the good things already happening in the S. 2nd Street corridor and in Walker‘s Point.” The firm’s website states “the project is a textbook example of an infill site, surrounded by beneficial existing uses.” They’re right: the building is within walking distance of the Historic Third Ward and way too many bars, restaurants and businesses to list.

Working with a design by Rinka Chung Architecture, the development team hopes to break ground by May. Altius Building Company will serve as the construction manager on the project. Once construction starts the building will take approximately 13 to 14 months to build.

[bucksfan15]

I've been pretty busy so haven't really been able to update but here's a quick rundown of what's happened the last couple weeks...

-North End's final phase broke ground
-Hamme's HQ broke ground
-Countour got approved and should break ground shortly
-Streetcar tracks were delivered and are stationed on streets around downtown
-It looks like the 13-story Farwell tower is about to get going
-The residential project behind Rhythm is going
-A third tower crane went up by Marquette (2 for their new residential tower, 1 for a different residential project)
-The arena is rising QUICK as is the rest of the district around it
-NML's residential tower is on the 8th floor

Hopefully I'll be able to get out and get some pictures of everything soon.

[bucksfan15]

Oh, and this just got announced...

Testing For 22-Story Building on Prospect

A 22-Story Building?

“They’re talking about putting up a 22-story building here,” one of the crew members said as an approximately five foot length of small diameter bore (about 1-1/2 inch interior diameter) hollow pipe was threaded to a series of others that had already been pounded into the earth by 11 a.m.

Determining the best footings for a 200-foot tall building requires extracting a number of samples up to about 100 feet into the earth to find out what lies below. The site lies at about 650 feet elevation above sea level, with steep bluffs at its eastern edge. The shores of Lake Michigan, no more than 500 feet distant, lie 75 feet below this plateau.