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 and wonderful things.
• The last time we checked in with the former Buca di Beppo restaurant in downtown-ish Milwaukee (1237 N. Van Buren Ave.), the site was the potential future home of an eight-story, 220-unit apartment building from real estate development company New Land Enterprises. Buca di Beppo closed in 2017, you see, and the site—along with an adjoining parking lot and a former Bally Total Fitness—practically screamed “PERFECT SPOT FOR A BOXY NEW APARTMENT BUILDING WITH A NAME LIKE, UM, ER, HOW ABOUT ‘NOVA’?”
Now, New Land has refined its plans. Instead of an eight-story, 220-unit apartment building, the company is seeking approval for a nine-story, 251-unit apartment building. It’ll be called “Nova.”
“The L-shaped Nova building would wrap around the U.S. Postal Service building,” explains the Milwaukee Business Journal, “with frontage on both Van Buren and Jackson streets.” The Business Journal continues:
Nova would have townhouse-style apartments on its ground floor with personal front doors and private patios opening onto Van Buren Street’s sidewalks.
A two-story-tall retail space for a café or other uses would activate the building’s corner at North Van Buren Street and East Juneau Avenue where there currently is a parking lot. A pool would be atop the building’s parking structure on a south-facing outdoor deck.
Milwaukee’s City Plan Commission is set to review the project…TODAY. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Speaking of new apartment buildings from New Land Enterprises, here’s another one except this one’s in Walker’s Point and it has six-stories and 66 units and it’s called “Element.” [Urban Milwaukee]
• Real estate executive Braden Just and his wife will renovate a historic Schlitz Brewing tavern complex on the corner of 1st and Virginia in Walker’s Point and turn it into—guess, just guess, you’re never going to guess—apartments. The Justs will keep one of the new apartments for themselves. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Are you a designer interested in creating a “gritty, green, real” chunk of the Milwaukee RiverWalk? Then the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee is looking for you. A request for proposals (RFP) has been issued to design a 4,300-foot RiverWalk segment alongside the currently under-construction Komatsu Mining complex. There are plenty of design requirements, of course, including “adding pollinator gardens, bat boxes or birdhouses for upland items, or adding ‘fish habitat hotels.'” [Urban Milwaukee]
• Speaking of Komatsu, Milwaukee has been awarded a $1 million state grant in order to build a new railroad spur at Komatsu’s under-construction complex. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Oops, it’s been a minute since we’ve mentioned new apartments. So buckle up: There may be some new apartments coming to a vacant lot north of Fiserv Forum! The proposed four-story apartment building would consist of “32 two-bedroom units set aside at below-market rates for individuals making less than 60% of the area median income and six, three-bedroom townhomes available at market rates.” [Urban Milwaukee]
• The fog is getting thicker, and Highland Community School is getting laaaaaarger. [OnMilwaukee]
• A company connected to developer Michael Sanfelippo has purchased the former Select Sound Service building on the corner of 1st and National for a cool $925,000. No plans have been announced for the high-profile building, but let’s just say apartments. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Another roundup of new and wonderful things, another update on the 44-story lakeside Couture luxury apartment tower and streetcar hub and god knows what else development that was announced NINE YEARS AGO and still hasn’t broken ground. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• The headline says it all: “Another food hall could be coming. This one would have 14 to 18 restaurants in downtown Milwaukee.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• The above Journal Sentinel link is for subscribers only. If you’re not a subscriber and you complain about paying money for Journal Sentinel journalism, everyone from the Journal Sentinel will get all worked up. [EDIT: Which they totally should and this aside is not meant to suggest that paying for journalism isn’t something journalists should stick up for and yes we’re proud Journal Sentinel digital subscribers and we will continue to be until the end of time thank you.] [Twitter]
Why not? @journalsentinel is worth the price. Support local journalism. It’s important. https://t.co/imcUbbfMuW
— Tom (@Haudricourt) March 7, 2021
It’s $1! One dollar. One! https://t.co/MGyE2ZBciO
— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) March 7, 2021
Thank you, @mkefrizz ! It’s easy, folks: https://t.co/QIjv36SZHR or https://t.co/Gvah4uCIJn https://t.co/u8FylS87qJ
— George Stanley (@geostanley) March 7, 2021
• And what did we learn this week? Well, they’re always building something. Isn’t that right, old song from my old band?
Exclusive articles, podcasts, and more. Support Milwaukee Record on Patreon.
RELATED ARTICLES
• Full “New And Wonderful Things” (formerly called “New Shit”) archives