The $28 million planned conversion of a historic Metcalfe Park building into apartments has won preliminary approval for a key part of its financing.
Metcalfe Lofts would renovate a 184,000-square-foot industrial building, 3100 W. Meinecke Ave., into 83 apartments – 80% set aside for seniors with the rest for health care workers. The project would include a small health care clinic.
The development is being done by KG Development Group LLC and the nonprofit Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
The Redevelopment Authority board at its May 21 meeting granted preliminary approval for a $7.6 million bond sale.
The bonds would be sold in the authority’s name to provide tax-exempt status if the board grants final approval.
KG Development would be responsible for finding a bond purchaser, and for repaying the bond proceeds, plus interest, to the buyer.
Tax-exempt bonds carry lower interest rates because the bond purchaser isn’t paying taxes on its investment.
The board in 2025 authorized a similar bond issue for Bay View’s proposed Austin Commons affordable housing development.
The bond issue would be one of 10 financing sources for Metcalfe Lofts, said Anthony Kazee, KG Development principal.
Other sources include federal and state historic preservation tax credits and state affordable housing tax credits. The credits are sold to raise cash for developments.
Historic tax credits require buildings be renovated according to preservation standards. Affordable housing tax credits require apartments provided at below-market rents to moderate-income people.
Other financing sources will likely include a tax incremental financing district. If approved by the Common Council and Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the financing district would provide cash from the Metcalfe Lofts’ property tax revenue.
The developers hope to begin construction in the first quarter of 2027, Kazee told board members, with the apartments completed by summer 2028.
The building’s oldest portion was built around 1900, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The property for several years housed manufacturer Perlick Co.
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: Metcalfe Park historic building to become apartments
Reporting by Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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