Pabst Theater Group has purchased the 15,925-square-foot building on Milwaukee’s Lower East Side where it plans to establish a 450-seat concert hall.
The building, located at 1816-28 N. Farwell Ave., was sold to an affiliate of Pabst Theater Group by an affiliate of Milwaukee-based development firm
New Land Enterprises for $2 million, according to state records.
Located next to New Land’s Urbanite apartment building, the 1816-28 N. Farwell Ave. building has several tenants including Domino’s Pizza, Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant and Chopstix.
Earlier this week, Pabst Theater Group
unveiled new details about its plans for a small concert venue in the building, which will be called
Vivarium, expected to open in February.
Vivarium will replace Pabst Theater Group’s existing East Side concert hall, the 300-person Back Room @ Colectivo, which will close by the end of the year.
Vivarium will occupy a space previously used for New Land Enterprises’ offices. The space was remodeled in 2020 as an intended venue for weddings and events, but has seen little use during the last three years.
Cedarburg-based
The Kubala Washatko Architects is heading up the design work for the Vivarium project.