A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held today to celebrate completion of the redevelopment of the four-story building at the southwest corner of South 6th Street and West National Avenue in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. The building is now known as Mercantile Lofts.
The redevelopment project by Northpointe Development Inc. created 36 apartments in the building, including 28 market-rate units, and 8 affordable housing units subsidized by WHEDA, which provided a $6.6 million construction loan for the project and $5.4 million in permanent financing. Rents for the affordable housing units range from $948 to $1,125. Rents for the market rate units range from $975 to $1,600.
The size of the units in the building range from 727 for a one bedroom unit up to 1,169 for the largest two-bedroom unit.
The building is known locally for its for its “Mural of Peace” that can be seen by northbound motorists on I-43.
The 76,350-square-foot, 116-year-old building was formerly known as the International Building. It was a acquired by the city in early 2015 through a property tax foreclosure. It was previously owned by social service agency Esperanza Unida, which had its office space in the building before moving out after it was acquired by the city. The city sold the building to Northpointe, which is managed by Callan Schultz and Andrew Dumke and affiliated with Keystone Development.
A grand opening will also be held today for the Gerald Ignace Indian Health Center on West Historic Mitchell Street in Milwaukee. The center, dedicated to addressing the health care needs for people living in an urban setting, is located in the former Goldmann’s department store that operated for 111 years before closing in 2007. WHEDA allocated $5.5 million in new markets tax credits to help finance the new health center and also provided a participation loan of $3.4 million.
