Part of an underused downtown Milwaukee office tower would be transformed into 220 apartments, including some aimed at middle-income renters, under a new proposal.
The vacant east tower of the 310W Building, 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., is to be redeveloped into a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, the Department of City Development announced.
The project is to include 50 workforce apartments for households earning between 70% and 90% of the area median income.
310W Wisconsin Rollup LLC is partnering with building owner Time Equities Inc. on the $73.6 million project.
Its financing would include $6.44 million provided through the redeveloped building’s higher property tax revenue. That requires Common Council approval for a proposed tax incremental financing district.
“We are focused on creating more opportunities for residents to find quality, affordable homes,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in an Aug. 5 statement.
“This investment benefits Milwaukee’s long-term economic health by expanding our tax base and ensuring our existing buildings contribute to the city’s future,” Johnson said.
“This proposal represents an important investment in the continued growth of downtown Milwaukee,” said Alderman Robert Bauman, whose district includes the site.
“This conversion will bring more residents downtown, support local businesses, and further activate the neighborhood,” Bauman said, in a statement.
A Time Equities affiliate bought the building in 2017 for $19.5 million and renovated its parking structure, elevators, atrium, mezzanine and lobby.
But it’s continued to struggle to attract tenants and would be the latest in a series of underused downtown office buildings to be converted to apartments.
Time’s efforts were gaining momentum, but “the pandemic fundamentally changed demand for office space,” said Brad Gordon, director of acquisitions for the New York-based company.
“Despite investing more than $30 million into the property, we remained committed to finding a long-term solution and, over the past four years, worked to advance a plan to convert the east tower into residential apartments,” Gordon said, in a statement.
The Redevelopment Authority board is to review the proposed tax financing district on Aug. 20. A Common Council review could come in September.
310W is downtown’s third-largest office building after the U.S. Bank Center and the 411 East Wisconsin Center.
The building opened in 1983 to house federal government agencies and private sector tenants. It was then known as Reuss Federal Plaza.
Downtown housing conversion projects include the ongoing redevelopment of the former 100 East tower, 100 E. Wisconsin Ave., into 373 apartments. That work is to be completed by the end of 2027.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram,Bluesky, X and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Another downtown office tower is to be converted into apartments
Reporting by Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
