A large condominium development is planned for downtown Milwaukee – around 20 years after similar projects stalled when the housing bubble burst.
The 25-story, 226-unit development, known as Zenith, is proposed for a gravel lot, 701 E. Kilbourn Ave., and an adjacent parking lot by New Land Enterprises LLC, the firm announced June 22.
That location is just across Kilbourn Avenue from New Land’s Ascent, a 25-story, 259-unit apartment tower that opened in 2022.
Ascent is among three apartment high-rises as well as other large, higher-end downtown rental housing developments that have opened in recent years. That list includes New Land’s 251-unit Nova, which opened in 2023 at 1237 N. Van Buren St. – three blocks north of the proposed Zenith site.
Meanwhile, only a couple dozen condos have been built throughout Milwaukee over roughly the past 15 years.
“We’ve been talking about condo development for a really, really long time,” Tim Gokhman, New Land managing partner, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The firm delayed pursuing condo plans because prospective sale prices weren’t rising fast enough compared to escalating construction costs, Gokhman said.
“In the last three years, that has changed,” he said. “The pent-up demand has been there.”
Richard Ruvin, who’s leading Zenith’s sales team, said Milwaukee has seen just over 200 condo sales in the roughly $450,000 to $1.2 million range over the past two years.
With more available condos, those sales numbers could have doubled, said Ruvin, lead partner of Falk Ruvin Gallagher Real Estate.
Zenith’s economies of scale for its construction costs allow the units to be priced competitively compared with other Milwaukee luxury condo buildings, Ruvin said.
Sale prices start at $458,000 for a one-bedroom unit with 770 square feet, and $772,000 for a two-bedroom unit with 1,210 square feet. Monthly homeowners association fees start at $481.
Zenith’s selling points include its location near the lakefront and downtown attractions, and larger downtown employers that include Northwestern Mutual’s expanding campus, Gokhman said.
Also, the building’s L-shaped design creates more highly sought corner units with additional views, he said.
Zenith’s amenities are to include a pool, sauna and cold plunge shower; private work spaces; rooftop deck; two-story fitness center; pet spa and golf simulator.
The units are designed with 9.5-foot high ceilings with floor to ceiling windows; large balconies, and customizable finishings, including cabinetry, appliances, countertops, wood flooring and tile.
Summer 2027 construction start targeted
With the marketing campaign’s launch, and an expected Plan Commission/Common Council zoning review in July, New Land hopes to begin construction in July 2027, Gokhman said. The firm’s goal is to have half of the condos with sales agreements by then.
Under that schedule, the building would be finished by May 2029.
Meanwhile, New Land’s plans to develop a 24-story, 346-unit apartment tower at North Farwell Avenue and East Curtis Place, less than a mile from the Zenith site, remain on hold.
That’s because the market for high-end apartments “is pretty well supplied,” Gokham said, calling it “the polar opposite” of the condo market.
“It doesn’t matter how nice the apartment tower is,” Gokhman said. Prospective residents are “really focused on [condo] ownership.”
New downtown apartment high-rises provide options for people who want to live downtown and might otherwise buy newer condos if they were available, said Milwaukee real estate broker Chris Corley.
One of downtown’s newest apartment towers, The Couture, 909 E. Michigan St., has about 80% of its units leased around two years after opening.
Houston-based Hines, which developed apartment high-rise 333 Water, 333 N. Water St., declined to comment on its occupancy level. It opened in 2024.
Meanwhile, Madison-based Willow Partners LLC’s plans for a 25-story, 192-unit apartment tower at its Goll House property, 1550 N. Prospect Ave., remain on hold.
Also, Madison-based Neutral in September stopped construction on its Edison project, a 31-story, 357-unit apartment building, 1005 N. Edison St., after facing a $25 million cost gap.
A foreclosure suit was filed in March by its general contractor, Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith Construction Inc.
Few condos built since housing bubble burst
A new condo tower could do well, depending on its location and other factors, because of the pent-up demand, said Corley, who operates Corley Real Estate.
The Zenith announcement comes nearly a year after Cirrus Property Group LLC dropped plans for a 15-unit condo project, at 1524-1546 N. Jefferson St., after deciding it wasn’t economically feasible.
Zenith would be the first large condo building completed in Milwaukee in more than 15 years.
The city’s early century condo boom included New Land’s 33-story Kilbourn Tower, 923 E. Kilbourn Ave. It opened in 2005 – before the housing bubble burst.
New Land’s timing was less fortunate with its plans for a condo development on 2.66 acres at North Water and East Brady streets. The firm lost that parcel through foreclosure, and it remains undeveloped.
Also foreclosed during the condo market collapse: the 147-unit Point on the River, 106 W. Seeboth St., and the 280-unit Park Lafayette Towers, 2036 N. Prospect Ave. – with the latter converted into apartments after construction was completed.
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: New downtown high-rise plan has a twist. It’s not apartments.
Reporting by Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
