A historic and long-abandoned Milwaukee building is back on the market, and the price is right. So let’s all chip in, buy the thing, and do SOMETHING with it!
Last week, the City of Milwaukee published a listing for the old Humboldt Gardens building at 2249 N. Humboldt Ave. You know, that three-story building on the corner of North and Humboldt that looks like it’ll collapse any day now. That three-story building that hasn’t been home to a proper business since George H.W. Bush was in the White House. That three-story building that some guy was going to turn into a food truck park back in 2021. Yeah, that one.
Asking price? $5,000. Down from $58,500 in 2018!
“Experienced, visionary business owners looking for growth in the Riverwest market may find value in this commercial property built in a classic 1890s style,” reads an accompanying social media post. “This historically designated building will need significant investment due to numerous repairs and its historical designation.”
Constructed in 1891 as a Schlitz tied house, the building was also home to a number of beloved bars and clubs in the ’70s and ’80s, including Zak’s, The Spruce Goose, and Kilroy’s. The first floor has been vacant since 1992. The City designated the building a historic landmark in 2000. Fifteen years later, the City acquired the building from owner Damian Zak via property tax foreclosure. An addition to the building was demolished in 2019, and a plan to redevelop the building into condos fell apart that same year. The whole “food truck park” didn’t pan out, either.
“The locally designated historic property which is part of the City of Milwaukee Commercial Listing, boasts almost 8,000 square feet of prominent real estate at the corner of Humboldt and North Avenue with permitted uses including: restaurant, café, retail, office, business/food service, residential, etc.,” reads the social media post.
So yeah, let’s get $5,000 together and do something—ANYTHING—with this historic dump. A restaurant, a cafe, a new club, whatever! The sky’s the limit!
Oh, and we’ll probably need an additional $5,000,000. “Numerous repairs” indeed:
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