The owner of a former dairy processing plant on Milwaukee's East Side is planning to convert the building into apartments.
Kendall Breunig, owner of Franklin-based
Sunset Investors Group, has owned the two-story warehouse at 1617-1633 E. North Ave.
since 2017.
Breunig has filed plans with the city to create 17 market-rate apartments and 21 indoor parking spaces in the building. He said in an interview that he originally planned to convert it to self-storage, but he
sold his other self-storage properties last year.
Plans are not finalized for the redevelopment project. Bruenig said it could end up with one or two fewer units in favor of some commercial space. He also has not yet determined the unit mix and rental rates.
Breunig has applied for a zoning change at the property to allow for the apartment conversion. It is now zoned for industrial purposes.
He said other buildings in the area are now used as apartments and retail businesses, rather than industrial use.
"There's a need there (for more apartments)," Breunig said. "And … I think there's only one other industrial use left in that stretch."
The Art Deco-style building was constructed in 1946, and has glazed block walls original to the building. It is assessed at $641,300, according to city records.
"The hope is it can remain pretty much intact as is for the look," Breunig said.
It also contains an area once used as a dairy bar, where people used to walk in and have a cold glass of milk while they waited for their order of cheese and butter to be filled. Breunig said the dairy bar would not remain in his current plans, though that may change.
Sunset Investors is keeping itself busy as of late. Among other things, it recently
bought the former St. Francis Brewery and is seeking a new tenant for the building, and is
adding 72 more apartment units to its Plankinton Lofts at 161 W. Wisconsin Ave.
