If you’ve ever wondered who’s in that office tower you keep walking by, or what’s under construction in your neighborhood, we’re here to help catch you up.
Developing Stories is our new monthly series covering commercial real estate in southeastern Wisconsin. Every month, Milwaukee Business Journal reporter Addison Lathers joins Lake Effect’s Sam Woods to discuss top headlines from the previous month, and what she’s expecting in the future.
This month, the two discuss how to sell a condo that hasn’t been built yet, and how you can own the Master Lock complex for a dollar - sort of.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Lake Effect's Sam Woods: Every month we start with three new commercial development stories from the month. So what's first?
Addison Lathers: First, I really wanna talk about this massive housing project in Wauwatosa that's running a little bit behind schedule as the developer works to get some additional funding for the projects - I'm talking about that multi-tower project Barrett Lo Visionary Development was planning at Mayfair Mall, just south of the former Boston store. Barrett Lo, which you might know for its downtown Milwaukee Couture tower, intended to break ground in the first half of 2025. The firm now hopes to kick off work in 2027, subject to essentially being able to get the money to do it, city officials tell me. It wasn't really clear to me how much the developer has raised and how much more it needs. The CEO of Barrett Lo, Rick Barrett, wasn't interested in chatting about it. But we know Barrett Lo in 2023 called it a $400 million dollar project, I wouldn't doubt it if they are staring down the barrel of a much, much higher number now.
Second, last week New Land Enterprises secured its zoning approval from Milwaukee's Common Council for a proposed 25-story condo tower in downtown Milwaukee called 'The Zenith.' But before the Zenith can be built, banks like to see half of a condo project's units reserved before it hands a developer any spending money, and the company says it has about 10% of the condos sold and is pretty close to getting a deal done with a lot more potential buyers. However, it's kind of hard to sell a home you can't move into for three years, and it's also kind of a tricky economic environment where young professionals may not be willing to put down insane amounts of money if they're not really sure what the next few years is gonna look like for them in their career. So it sounds like the demand is skewing to older people moving out of their homes. And for the pricing, I mean, it'll run you a pretty penny.
Third, we have an update from last month regarding the Master Lock site on Milwaukee's north side. The last time I was here, I brought the news that the auction had closed and that we'd know if a bid was accepted soon. About a week after that, I reported the news at a buyer had been found and that the plant was an escrow. Huge. And then quite literally like five days after that the buyer realized they were in over their heads, it sounds like. The auctioneer, Mr. Bill Lang, held a press conference to say that the bidder sought more time to complete the deal and that the seller opted to instead put the property back on the market - for one dollar. You and I could take a credit card right now and go bid on that plant, assuming we have at least $5,000 in approved spending.
Every month we highlight a word or phrase that showed up in your reporting. So what's this month's word and how did it come across your desk?
This month's word is 'easement.' An easement is a legal right that allows someone to use a specific part of another person's property for a very designated purpose without necessarily owning it. So if your home shares a driveway with another home, you may have an easement allowing you or even your neighbor to use that driveway. And this month we figured out what happens if a landowner and the easement haver aren't getting along.
I broke the news that the developer behind a proposed $11 million office building in Milwaukee's Harbor District is suing We Energies, saying the utility is withholding service to pressure them into granting permanent rights to the riverfront property, where it currently has a duct and cable system without proof of a valid easement. That system apparently runs across the property and beneath the Milwaukee River to serve the Third Ward. It's a pretty serious claim, and one that We Energies has told me it strongly denies. But until everyone comes to an agreement over the disputed easement, the five-story boutique office building with a rooftop deck probably isn't gonna get built. Whether or not it's a long drawn-out court battle, I guess we'll have to wait and see. We Energies has not filed a response yet as of this morning.
Is there anything you're keeping your eye on for the future?
I'm waiting to see whether an offer will be accepted for the soon to be vacant Milwaukee Public Museum site, which will be empty when the museum relocates to its new building next year. Those offers were due on October 12th, but a spokesperson with Milwaukee County declined to tell me how many responses it received. For those not in the know, Milwaukee County began looking for buyers over the summer. It decided to do it on its own instead of working with a broker. That's a big decision to make and one that doesn't always go as planned - like putting a yard sign in front of your home that says, 'for sale by owner.' Brokers told me that because the county wasn't represented, the listing wasn't reaching many buyers, and that they wouldn't be surprised if no one submitted an offer on the museum at all. Either way, the county told me they'll make a decision on their next steps by the end of the year.
