Depending on which news sources you follow, Milwaukee is going through either a “renaissance” or a “reinvention.” Or maybe it’s a “reboot” or a “reimagining,” like that crappy Tim Burton version of Planet Of The Apes. However you want to define it, it’s safe to say that Milwaukee is currently building a lot of new shit.
• Hey! Milwaukee might be getting its very first hostel! Developers Juli Kaufmann and Carolyn Weber have proposed converting an historic two-story Riverwest building located at 500 E. Center St. into the 41-bunk Cream City Hostel. According to a Department of City Development report, the hostel will “elevate the Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods as tourist destinations, delivering a unique traveler experience not currently available in the Milwaukee market, (and) bring visitors that will support local neighborhood businesses and improving the local economy.” Fun! [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new affordable housing project in Walker’s Point. Dubbed SEVEN04 Place, the $12.2 million, 60-unit project located at 704 W. National Ave. will include a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Sixty of those units will include on-site support services for “military veterans and working families,” with 14 of those units set aside for “veterans and others who have struggled with housing stability.” The project is expected to be completed by early 2019. [OnMilwaukee]
• Work has begun on converting a long-vacant Walker’s Point lot, located on the northeast corner of S. 2nd St. and W. Florida St., into a five-story, 70-unit mixed-use apartment building known as The Quin MKE. [Urban Milwaukee]
• The same developers behind The Quin, Linden Street Partners, have submitted plans to construct a complimentary five-story, 87-unit mixed-use apartment building on the southwest corner of S. 2nd St. and W. Oregon St. Rent for the one- and two-bedroom units will average a cool $1,500 to $1,600 per month. [BizTimes]
• Plans were approved to convert the old riverside firehouse at 105 N. Water St. in the Third Ward into a private “retreat” for the family behind Wimmer Brothers Realty Inc. [Urban Milwaukee]
• A former funeral home at 3514 W. Port Washington Ave. will be transformed into a gallery space and artist studios known as 5 Points Gallery and Studios. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Big changes are coming to St. Rita’s Catholic Church on the lower East Side. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Big changes are coming to Silver City, too. [Urban Milwaukee]