A local developer plans to demolish a dilapidated building along the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee and replace it with an 18-story tower that will include 57 high-end apartments, office space and a restaurant.
Click here to see a photo gallery of renderings of the building.
The Ladner Group LLC., a Greenfield-based developer, is expected to close on the site at 107-115 E. Wells St. in March for an undisclosed amount, said Cory Sovine, of Colliers International|Wisconsin, the listing broker on the property.
The Ladner Group plans to demolish the existing building and build a tower that will include a 3,500-square-foot restaurant with an outdoor patio on the ground floor, 5,000 square feet of office space on the second and third floors and high-end apartments on floors four through 18, Sovine said.
The Ladner Group president Jason Ladner could not be reached for comment.
Jason Korb, is the architect who has been working on the project since September. He hopes to have plans before the Milwaukee plan commission on Feb. 15. Construction could begin this summer.
Korb said there will be four 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath apartments on each floor, except the 18th floor, which will be a 1,600-square-foot penthouse with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths.
The existing two-story, 8,014-square-foot building was built in 1883 and is owned by Taxman Investment Co. The Wells Street Station restaurant was located in the building from 1993 until 2001, when the restaurant temporarily closed for extensive remodeling but was never reopened.
The site is also adjacent to the Bronze Fonz statue on the Milwaukee Riverwalk.
Ladner was a long time local real estate broker with Marcus & Millichap who recently got into development, Sovine said. According to state records, he formed The Ladner Group in 2009.
After marketing the property for several years, Sovine said he was excited to find a developer who wanted to demolish the existing property and build something new.
“It’s a phenomenal and iconic site that sits at a great section of the river,” Sovine said. “Over the course of marketing it, a number of people were thinking of reusing the existing structure – I’m thrilled that is not happening. Jason’s vision is in line with more of a Chicago-style development.”
