A seven-story apartment building with up to 65 units is being planned for a long-vacant lot in the city’s East Side neighborhood. The lot is located at 2560 N. Stowell Avenue, immediately behind Boswell Book Company on Downer Avenue.
The lot has been vacant for nearly two decades. In 2007, several houses on the site were demolished to make way for a proposed 11-story, 70-unit condo building. A hotel was also part of the plan. The Milwaukee Common Council approved that development in 2008, though it never came to fruition.
The new building, from developer Thomas Schafer and Bayside Mgmt., would be four stories shorter than the scuttled 2008 condo building. It would consist of six floors of one- and two-bedroom apartments, and ground floor and underground parking.
A neighborhood meeting to discuss the project was held at the Downer Avenue Pizza Man Monday night. There really wasn’t much to the meeting: some quick introductions, an invitation to look over some renderings, and a note that there was free pizza and an open bar. We saw a few people we knew: Xposed 4Heads frontcouple Mark G.E. and Theresa Ala Mode were in attendance, as were several candidates for District 3 alderperson. Also, everyone asked us about the boat.
Here are the renderings!
And here’s the pizza! (A note about Pizza Man: Isn’t it wild that Pizza Man left its 10-year Downer Avenue home in early 2023, moved to the former Stubby’s Gastrogrub space on Humboldt Avenue, and then returned to its old location on Downer Avenue in late 2024? Huh! And yeah, everyone has an opinion on Pizza Man: “It’s overpriced!” “It’s mid!” “It hasn’t been the same since [insert year the person speaking turned 25]!” But damn if the pizza they had out on Monday night wasn’t terrific. Thin, crispy crust! Tangy sauce! Fresh toppings! Good stuff! Maybe they were bringing their A-game to cozy up to the developers and placate the neighbors concerned about parking? We know the open bar didn’t hurt. Consider us fans of Pizza Man 4.0!)
The proposed apartment building will be officially discussed by the City Plan Commission and the Common Council in the near future.
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