Construction on the first building in a planned $450 million mixed-use development in downtown Kenosha is set to begin this summer.
It will be a five-story apartment building with 158 units that's to be completed in early 2026, the city and developers Cobalt Partners and C.D. Smith announced Thursday. Upon its completion, the developers plan to start construction on a 10-story tower with 188 apartments, seven townhomes and ground-floor retail and coworking space.
Kenosha officials celebrated the project's kickoff with a Thursday event at the site, which spans nine blocks near the city's harbor. The redeveloped area will be known as the Kenosha Harbor District.
"We think Kenosha just holds an incredible amount of unrealized potential," said
Scott Yauck, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Cobalt Partners. "It's part of a diverse, growing regional economy. We think it's really poised to transform from what's here today, an underutilized blank canvas, to something really spectacular and special."
Kenosha in May 2023 announced a concept for the overall downtown redevelopment, which Cobalt Partners and Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith developed through a partnership known as Cobalt Smith. It envisions a total of 1,000 new housing units, a market hall and other retail, office buildings and a hotel all built out over around 10 years.
The city is supporting the redevelopment with an existing tax incremental district, and the developers will secure additional financing for each building within the redevelopment as the project proceeds, Yauck said. Financing for the first apartment building at 5506 Seventh Ave. is in the works and will include equity and a traditional construction loan, he said.
The 10-story building is planned for the site of the former LaMacchia Travel Agency at 618 55th St.
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Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian for years has wanted to redevelop this portion of the city's downtown.
"These types of projects change our community, they provide an image of what we can do," Antaramian said.
Cobalt Smith last month sought rezonings for the first two buildings in the Harbor District project. It still needs to go through a city architectural review before construction can begin.
"Our first project is going to be a city block and anytime you do a project with a city block, there's no back of the building, there's no ugly side," said
Mike Krolczyk, senior vice president at C.D. Smith.
Cobalt Partners and C.D. Smith both responded to a 2018 request for proposals for the site, but neither were picked. The chosen developer's plans ultimately did not move forward and Cobalt and C.D. Smith partnered and refined their proposals.
"When we dug into this project in 2018, I came down here and spent some weekends and evenings in the Kenosha area and did a lot of research on urban waterfronts," Yauck said. "We looked at the evolution of waterfronts over time."
Kenosha's waterfront was used for industrial use for decades, but much of it has been underutilized since manufacturers left the area. A 2003 redevelopment brought life back to part of the waterfront and this project will complete it, city and project leaders said.
"How do you make cities attract more educated workers, grow at a faster rate? It really translates to higher property values and higher rates of urban success," Yauck said. "Livability in the form of modern housing, connectivity, social engagement, economic opportunity has really moved to the forefront and that's the focus of the Kenosha Harbor District."
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City and project leaders at Thursday's gorundbreaking.[/caption]
