It was big news when construction stopped abruptly on downtown’s Edison apartment high-rise – but that’s not the only Milwaukee project in limbo.
Milwaukee hosts several major developments that received city approvals years ago but have either not yet broken ground, or have ground to a halt after construction started.
This includes major projects, such as apartment towers and high-end hotels.
Some are facing challenges because loan interest rates remain relatively high – even as they’ve dropped over the past year.
Another factor is inflated construction costs.
The estimated cost of converting downtown’s 100 East office tower into 373 apartments has risen since summer from $165 million to $186 million. The developers plan to begin work in April – if the Common Council approves another $2.2 million in city financing on top of $14.4 million approved in July.
There’s also general uncertainty about the U.S. economy.
That includes questions about President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariffs that have raised prices for construction materials and fixtures, as well as mass deportations that have affected the construction industry workforce.
There are other factors – including what some developers call a surplus of luxury apartment units in Milwaukee.
Here’s a look at some larger projects that remain indefinitely stalled.
Downtown Milwaukee’s Edison high-rise appears dead
Construction on downtown’s Edison apartment high-rise, which started in late spring, saw an abrupt halt in September.
Madison-based developer Neutral characterized that as a temporary measure as it considered cost-cutting measures.
But it was disclosed in October the 31-story, 378-unit tower, 1005 N. Edison St., had a $25 million funding gap.
That came six months after Neutral said the Edison’s costs could increase because of tariffs on building materials, such as lumber and steel.
The project general contractor, Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith Construction Inc., on Nov. 3 began dismantling the site’s construction crane. The crane and other construction equipment are now gone, although foundation improvements remain at the site.
Also, C.D. Smith on Nov. 4 filed a lien in Milwaukee County Circuit Court saying it’s owed $10.1 million in connection with that project.
Since then, several other contractors and vendors have filed liens – which are often followed by collection lawsuits. Neutral’s affiliate which owns the Edison site also has an overdue property tax bill of more than $43,000, according to city records.
There’s no word from Neutral about whether the project can be revived. The Department of City Development declined to comment.
One factor could be Neutral’s experience level. The Edison was the young firm’s first high-rise after previously developing a 206-unit mid-rise apartment building in Madison.
Meanwhile, the department is seeking new development proposals for the city-owned Marcus Performing Arts Center parking structure site – after initially recommending in 2024 Neutral’s conceptual plan for the 2.5-acre parcel, 1001 N. Water St.
City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump announced that decision in November, saying it was “time to move in another direction.”
East side apartment towers stalled
Madison-based Willow Partners LLC in 2023 delayed plans to begin building a 25-story, 192-unit tower at its Goll House property, 1550 N. Prospect Ave.
That decision was tied to interest rate increases as well as the city’s new 2% sales tax, which raised the cost of buying construction materials, said Christopher Houden Jr., Willow Partners managing partner.
Willow still plans to redevelop the site but continues to monitor how some of Milwaukee’s new apartment high-rises are performing, Houden said in October.
Just a couple blocks to the southwest, New Land Enterprises LLC plans to develop a 24-story, 346-unit tower at North Farwell Avenue and East Curtis Place.
That project remains on hold, said Tim Gokhman, New Land managing partner.
“Interest rates remain problematic,” Gokhman recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Another factor: a local surplus of luxury apartments – which the New Land high-rise would provide, he said.
Two high-end downtown apartment towers opened in 2024: the 322-unit Couture, 909 E. Michigan St., and 333 Water, with 330 units at 333 N. Water St. Both are still leasing up their apartments.
Gokhman said it’s difficult to predict when that supply of luxury units will shrink to the point of making New Land’s project more viable.
The firm is proceeding with two workforce housing apartment buildings in the Walker’s Point neighborhood. Those are to receive city financing help.
Three neighboring apartment plans on hold
Three apartment projects, totaling around 700 units, are planned for sites near one another on downtown’s northern edge.
But construction has yet to start – years after winning approval.
The biggest of the three proposed developments is The Caroline, a 32-story tower with up to 350 market-rate and affordable apartments and around 43,000 square feet of office space at 1325 N. Jefferson St.
It would be developed by Travaux Inc., a city Housing Authority affiliate, on a parking lot next to the authority’s Convent Hill apartments. The Common Council in 2019 granted zoning approval, but that came with a five-year expiration date.
The Housing Authority has no immediate plans to advance The Caroline “but the concept has not been abandoned,” said Amy Hall, communications director.
Just west of The Caroline site, Chicago-based LG Development Group LLC in 2022 applied for a building permit for a six-story, 197-unit apartment building at 1333-1339 N. Milwaukee St.
Site preparation work started in 2023. But that work stopped, with the project on hold “as we wait for interest rates to come down,” said Daniel Haughney, LG Development chief investment officer and partner, in 2024.
Haughney didn’t respond to recent requests for a status update.
Also nearby, The Avenir apartment community’s first phase opened at 1437 N. Jefferson St. in 2014. The development is on the Park East strip, and the land purchase agreement with Milwaukee County required the second phase to begin construction by 2020.
Kirkland, Washington-based Weidner Investment Services Inc. has delayed that construction start. County officials have granted extensions for Weidner’s plans to develop two additional phases with 82 and 63 apartments.
Weidner wants to advance the project “as soon as market conditions allow. At this time, a groundbreaking date has not been determined,” said a spokesperson for County Executive David Crowley.
Apartments targeting renters without cars seek city review
An east side apartment development targeting renters who don’t own cars − which received initial approvals nearly four years ago − is returning to the Board of Zoning Appeals for another review.
The four-story, 56-unit building, planned for 1504 E. North Ave., would provide a relatively small number of parking spaces. That takes advantage of nearby Milwaukee County Transit System bus stops, a car sharing service, and a Bublr Bikes share station.
Developer Ryan Pattee and his partners in 2022 bought the high-profile site and demolished buildings to make way for the new building.
There’s no word yet on a possible construction start, Pattee said recently. But the development team is returning to the zoning board to ensure city approvals are updated, he said.
Historic hotel, apartments are neighbors-in-waiting
Two downtown projects planned for neighboring historic buildings remain on hold after some construction work occurred.
Construction started in late 2020 to convert an office building, at 790 N. Jackson St., into the Adams Hotel, a boutique inn with around a dozen rooms.
Much of that work was completed before activity stopped amid a 2021 lawsuit involving hotel developer Joel Lee and Northwestern Mutual over control of the hotel’s parking lot, at 795 N. Van Buren St.
That lawsuit was settled in 2024.
Lee recently told the Journal Sentinel his firm, Van Buren Management Inc., plans to proceed with the project.
But it might include a residential component on the parking lot – which a Van Buren Management affiliate acquired when the Northwestern Mutual lawsuit was settled.
“You’re looking at a long-term development,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, just east of the Adams Hotel, the conversion of the former Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 790 N. Van Buren St., into 22 apartments received Historic Preservation Commission approvals in 2021.
That included a condition that developer Saxony Capital LLC, based in Northfield, Illinois, find new uses for 20 stained glass windows that would be replaced.
The building appears to have new windows. But there’s no word on how much additional work is needed to create the apartments.
Saxony Capital principal Josh Mintzer hasn’t responded to the Journal Sentinel’s requests for a status update.
Downtown, Third Ward hotels on hold
Two other downtown-area hotels remain on the drawing board after obtaining city approvals.
Construction was to start by summer 2025 on a seven-story, 160-room Tempo by Hilton, 308 W. Kilbourn Ave.
The Tempo received Historic Preservation Commission approval in 2023. That was needed because the site is part of the former Journal Sentinel complex designated as historic – which is now the Journal Commons mixed-use development.
Developer HKS Holdings LLC in 2024 applied for approval of a revised proposal that calls for a 158-room hotel. That proposal was later withdrawn, and HKS Holdings didn’t respond to a recent request for comment.
Also, plans to convert the former Harri Hoffmann Co. building and its adjacent vacant lot, 125-129 N. Water St., into a 102-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel received conceptual approval in 2021 from the Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board.
That approval has since expired, and developer Wimmer Communities hasn’t yet returned to the board for another review.
Marketing Director Alyssa Dunning declined to comment on the project.
Plans remain for Third Ward, Harbor District housing
Another Third Ward project, architect and developer Peter Renner’s plan to build 13 townhome-style condominiums, at 620-680 E. Summerfest Place, was proposed in December 2016 and later won Architectural Review Board approval.
Renner returned to the board in 2024 to obtain approval for his revised proposal. But construction hasn’t yet started.
That project cannot proceed until an underground fiber optic cable is relocated, Renner recently told the Journal Sentinel.
Less than a half-mile away, the proposed Admiral’s Wharf apartments, 234 S. Water St., are still on hold, said developer Ryan Bedford.
The 11-story, 133-unit Harbor District apartment building received zoning approval in 2019.
The pandemic led Bedford to delay a planned construction start. A $1.5 million loan to help pay for the site’s environmental cleanup was approved by the Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority board in 2020, but no funds have yet been disbursed.
Interest rates, higher construction costs and a saturation of high-end apartments in the downtown area are all factors in the project’s delay, Bedford recently said.
Brady Street hotel site is dormant
A site at 1709 N. Farwell Ave., just north of East Brady Street, was rezoned by the Common Council in 2023 to allow for development of an 11-story, 130-room hotel.
A two-story building at that location, which last housed a FedEx store and Mega Media Xchange, was demolished in late 2024.
Also, a 2024 press release from the International Luxury Hotel Association said the hotel would be a Hilton Tapestry – operated by Los Angeles-based BLVD Hospitality.
But the site is now vacant, with part of it used as a parking lot.
The development team, led by Klein Development Inc. and Brady Street restaurant and tavern owner Jeno Cataldo, didn’t respond to requests for an update.
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: Milwaukee’s downtown development boom stalls: What’s holding up major projects?
Reporting by Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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