The 72-year-old building at 518-20 E. Erie St. is where Milwaukee Blacksmith was located before moving to Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood in 2017. It was purchased later that year by an affiliate of Milwaukee-based Joseph Property Development LLC.
Robert Joseph, founder of Joseph Property Development, owns both that 7,950-square-foot building and the one next door, at 538 E. Erie St., and is planning a new apartment development there.
Just over two years later, little has changed at the site. Joseph told BizTimes he still plans to move forward with the development, but at the moment his group is focused on other projects.
He agreed the building is ugly and noted he purchased the property for the land underneath, not the building itself.
“We’re going to put it out of its misery one of these days and (the project) is going to be spectacular,” he said.
