Milwaukee-based Mandel Group is hoping to break ground in 2017 on its Six Points Project in West Allis and has secured letters of intent with three tenants including a local restaurant group with three existing locations.
The restaurant group, which has not yet been named, would occupy the 6,250-square- foot restaurant building located at the southwest corner of National Avenue and 66th Street. The restaurant concept would be a “modern take on a traditional country bar focusing on homemade BBQ, a large selection of local craft beers, and live music,” said Ian Martin, vice president of development for Mandel Group. “The live music and outdoor dining space will activate the hard corner and offer an outstanding dining and entertainment venue for our apartment residents and the neighborhood.”
The restaurant building anchors the corner of the project’s food-cluster concept west of 66th Street.
Mandel Group has also signed a letter of intent with a tenant for the 2,450-square-foot kiosk building located on the southwest corner of National Avenue and 65th Street. This tenant, also not yet being identified, is another local business with multiple locations in the metro area and with an acute understanding of the West Allis market, Martin said.
“The (kiosk) building will help anchor active use and engagement of the Farmers Market both in-season and out, seven days a week,” he said. “The building will be operated as a breakfast, lunch, and light dinner destination focusing on locally-sourced ingredients and a Wisconsin-inspired menu.”
Mandel’s $65 million project was selected by the city of West Allis in February as the winning bid in a request for proposals process for the site in the city’s Six Points neighborhood.
The project was chosen, in part, because it heavily incorporates West Allis’ renowned farmers market.
The retail component of the project, south of National is being referred to as “Sona.”
North of National Avenue, in the area being referred to as “Nona” Mandel Group will develop a 30,000-square-foot professional office building at the southwest corner of Greenfield Avenue and 66th Street. Mandel Group recently received a letter of intent with a tenant for the building that is expected to employ 75 people there.
Mandel Group is also moving forward on the design of a 200-unit apartment development that will include two, three-story buildings. The apartments will include 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of amenity space and a large rooftop terrace overlooking National Avenue.
In addition to the letters of intent, Mandel Group is continuing discussions with several other retail tenants for the development, including a specialty grocery store, Martin said.
Mandel Group is continuing to work on making the Six Points Project a reality, he said.
“Regardless of the quality of the opportunity, we’re having a time of it overcoming the shear momentum for large-platform grocery stores in the Miller Park Way corridor,” Martin said. “I think people are finally realizing that Six Points offers some of the best daytime consumer demographics in the market, but will be drawn not for large-scale grocery shopping but rather for concentrated specialty shopping as well as bar/restaurant entertainment venues.”
